Satisfaction with travel and subjective well-being: Development and test of a measurement tool

Subjective well-being (SWB) that includes individuals’ cognitive and affective evaluations of life in general is proposed to be a more appropriate measure capturing the benefits individuals derive from travel improvements. We develop and test a measure of travel-related SWB, the nine item self-report satisfaction with travel scale (STS). In a survey of 155 undergraduates, STS, mood ratings, and ratings of SWB were collected for three hypothetical weekdays differing in travel mode, travel time, access to bus stops, and daily activity agenda. The results showed that STS is reliable and differentiates between changes in travel conditions. STS, mood, and to some extent SWB were shown to be affected by travel mode (bus vs. car), travel time, access to bus stops, and the number of activities in the daily agenda.

Research highlights
► We develop and test a measure of travel-related SWB, the nine item self-report satisfaction with travel scale (STS).
► The results showed that STS is reliable and differentiates between changes in travel conditions.