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.