On undirected trips, satisfaction, and well-being: Evidence from Flanders (Belgium)

Despite having the potential to improve subjective well-being, satisfaction with undirected travel, or travel for its own sake (e.g. taking a walk, bike ride, or joy ride), has not yet been empirically investigated. Using mean-comparison and generalized linear regression models, this study analyzes 1579 undirected trips made by 852 respondents to a survey in Flanders, Belgium during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown (18 March – 4 May 2020). Undirected travel was found to be longer in duration and more satisfying than results from directed trips in previous literature, with an indication that high... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Hook, H
De Vos, J
Van Acker, V
Witlox, F
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
Schlagwörter: Undirected travel / Travel satisfaction / Subjective well-being / Travel behavior / Positive utility of travel
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28546267
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10134531/1/1-s2.0-S1361920921003163-main.pdf

Despite having the potential to improve subjective well-being, satisfaction with undirected travel, or travel for its own sake (e.g. taking a walk, bike ride, or joy ride), has not yet been empirically investigated. Using mean-comparison and generalized linear regression models, this study analyzes 1579 undirected trips made by 852 respondents to a survey in Flanders, Belgium during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown (18 March – 4 May 2020). Undirected travel was found to be longer in duration and more satisfying than results from directed trips in previous literature, with an indication that higher levels of physical activity are important to satisfaction. Undirected travel satisfaction was found to have a clear positive relationship to well-being. As these trips are often active and were found to imply a positive utility of travel, understanding them can be important to policy goals regarding health, sustainability, and improving individual well-being.