Article in the „Journal of Environmental Psychology“ | 12.10.2021Commuting Willingness and Actual Commuting Behaviour

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For more and more employed people, commuting long distances to and from work has become the norm. Besides growing suburbanisation trends, changed labour market structures are responsible for this. The coronavirus pandemic may further promote this development. As a result, many employed people are faced with the question of how they choose their route to work. Do people become more likely to start long-distance commuting if they are generally more willing to do so? Or conversely, does active long-distance commuting lead to an increased likelihood of changes in willingness to do so?

Heiko Rüger, Nico Stawarz and Thomas Skora from the BiB, together with Brenton M. Wiernik from the University of South Florida, explore these questions in an article for the Journal of Environmental Psychology based on data from the European survey Job Mobilities and Family Lives in Europe.

Causal Relationship between Commuting Willingness and Commuting Behaviour?

Previous studies indicate a positive correlation between commuting willingness and commuting behaviour. Among other things, it has been shown that people who commute long distances to their place of work also show a greater willingness to commute long distances. This correlation is particularly important for spatial planning and politics, as commuting willingness is often seen as an important indicator for the future commuting behaviour of the population. However, it remains unclear whether a high willingness to commute also has a direct influence on the decision to commute or whether active long-distance commuting conversely influences commuting willingness. In order to clarify this correlation, the article uses longitudinal data from four European countries – Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland – and relates them to theoretical explanatory approaches that establish a link between commuting willingness and commuting behaviour.

“To clarify the direction of a causal relationship between commuting willingness and behaviour, we used two alternative sets of theoretical models,” explains co-author Dr. Heiko Rüger. Thus, models of rationally acting actors focus on commuting willingness as a causal driver for the decision to commute. In contrast, habituation and adaptation models see commuting willingness as a result of the current commuting situation. Accordingly, over time, workers may be better able to cope with the negative effects of commuting, for example, they may develop better time management to compensate for the reduction in leisure time, or they may change their attitudes based on their experiences.

Starting Long-Distance Commuting is Associated with an Increase in Willingness

“Our findings only provide limited support for the assumption that actual commuting behaviour can be inferred from an existing willingness to commute, regardless of whether it is about the start or the end of long-distance commuting,” according to Dr. Rüger. Accordingly, people often seem to be willing to deviate from their own preferences by accepting long commutes, for example, to meet family needs or to avoid economic hardship. In contrast, the analyses support the assumption that starting long-distance commuting is associated with an increased willingness to commute, while stopping long-distance commuting is at the same time also associated with a declining willingness to commute.

Willingness to Commute Changes over Time

Overall, it becomes clear that commuting willingness cannot be seen as a stable characteristic of a person, but is subject to change in many ways over time and must be seen in close connection with current commuting behaviour. “The willingness to commute can be understood in particular as an effect of commuting behaviour,” emphasises Dr. Rüger.

For spatial planning and policy, this could mean, for instance, being more cautious about decentralising urban facilities, services and destinations. For even if this significantly increases travel time and stress for commuters, they are likely to get used to it, making the decentralisation process difficult to reverse.

Rüger, Heiko; Stawarz, Nico; Skora, Thomas; Wiernik, Brenton M.(2021): Longitudinal relationship between long-distance commuting willingness and behavior: Evidence from European data. In: Journal of Environmental Psychology 77.