Commuting and its spillover effects on subjective well-being: Evidence from China

The relationship between commuting and subjective well-being has long been studied in the transportation field. However, few studies have examined the complex relationship between commuting characteristics that affect subjective well-being, nor have they focused on the spillover effects of commuting on other life domains. To fill these gaps, we built a structural equation model using large-scale survey data across 29 provinces in China to explore the mechanisms by which commuting characteristics affect subjective well-being. The results suggest that the complex relationship between commuting mode, time, and cost reduces the differences in commuters' subjective well-being across different commuting modes. Commuting distance affects commuting choices and indirectly produces different subjective well-being outcomes. The impact of commuting spills over into the health, work, and community domains, affecting subjective wellbeing. Based on these findings, we provided policy recommendations for urban and transportation planning in Chinese cities.