Exploring post-secondary students' commute satisfaction and its relationship to well-being

The relationship between commute satisfaction and subjective well-being (SWB) is an emerging topic that has yet to be explored for post-secondary students. Using a sample of 2,561 students from the 2019 StudentMoveTO survey, this MRP explores the relationship between post-secondary students’ commute satisfaction, emotional and cognitive SWB. Structured equation modelling (SEM) showed a positive association between commute satisfaction, emotional and cognitive SWB. Correlates of commute satisfaction and SWB were identified through SEM, including sociodemographic characteristics, travel characteristics, travel attitudes, and a novel finding of the social environment of a students’ neighbourhood. This MRP’s findings provide an understanding of the characteristics affecting commute satisfaction and SWB, which will help urban planners and post-secondary institutions create infrastructure and implement policy that improves commute satisfaction and mitigates the impact of commuting.

Key words: commute satisfaction; subjective well-being; post-secondary students