Travel-to-work and subjective well-being: A study of UK dual career households

• The BHPS is used to model travel-to-work, time-use and subjective well-being of dual career households.
• Women report shorter commutes and working hours/overtime, but lengthy housework.
• Uneven household division of labour reduces available leisure time for women.
• Long commutes create dissatisfaction among both men and women.
• Children constrain women with short commutes creating dissatisfaction with leisure.

This article contributes to our understanding of the interaction between travel-to-work, time-use, and subjective well-being among full-time men and women in dual career households. Findings from empirical investigation of the British Household Panel Survey (1993–2009) identify comparable overall time-use (combined commutes, working hours/overtime, housework, and (ill/elderly) care) between genders, however the distributions are distinct. Women report shorter commutes and working hours/overtime, but lengthy housework. Among men lengthier commutes generate dissatisfaction, while the presence of dependent children reduces satisfaction with leisure indicative of the impact of chauffeuring. Women’s relationship with travel-to-work appears more complex. Women remain car dependent. Meanwhile, both short and long commutes generate dissatisfaction. Findings indicate short commutes among mothers which reduce satisfaction with leisure time, reflecting multi-activity journeys including the school run. The evidence is indicative of inequality in the household division of labour limiting women’s temporal and spatial flexibility and reducing satisfaction with leisure time.