Open AccessAnalyzing the association between satisfaction with commuting time and satisfaction with life domains: A comparison of 32 European countries
Author(s) -
Richa Maheshwari,
Véronique Van Acker,
Jonas De Vos,
Frank Witlox
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of transport and land use
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 27
ISSN - 1938-7849
DOI - 10.5198/jtlu.2022.2121
Subject(s) - life satisfaction , association (psychology) , job satisfaction , demographic economics , logistic regression , psychology , subjective well being , social psychology , happiness , economics , mathematics , statistics , psychotherapist
Although the majority of literature explains travel satisfaction by examining trip determinants, the interaction between travel satisfaction and satisfaction with other life domains has been analyzed less frequently. Accounting for satisfaction with other life domains is nevertheless important because the effect of trip characteristics on travel satisfaction may be overestimated without considering satisfaction with non-travel-related life domains. Hence, this paper examines the interaction between satisfaction with commuting time, satisfaction with other life domains and overall life satisfaction. An ordered logistic regression has been estimated using a large dataset comprising data from 32 European countries. Results indicate that satisfaction with specific life domains and overall life satisfaction have a significant association with commuting time satisfaction (CTS), while controlling for employment characteristics, and personality (i.e., trust). Of all life domains, job and time-use satisfaction have the strongest associations with CTS. Given the large dataset, we controlled for the contextual differences between the European countries by making a distinction between well- and less-developed countries. The result seems to suggest that all life domains and employment characteristics better explain CTS in well-developed countries than less-developed countries. This paper thus contributes to reporting other innovative ways to obtain high levels of commuting time satisfaction rather than only looking at the interactions with transport mode, travel distance and travel time.