A Study on Commuting-Induced Stress and Coping Strategies in Santiago, Chile

Abstract

The research examines the effect of commuting on stress for both motorized and non-motorized commuters and understanding how they cope with it. Understanding this effect can be helpful for decision-makers in the economy, transportation planning, and demographics studies to promote a safe and peaceful experience of travel for all the commuters in the community by designing better transportation systems and developing infrastructure of alternative modes like walking. Moreover, understanding the emotional states of individuals during their journeys and how they navigate and manage the commuting stress feeling, can be beneficial for decision-makers to enhance commuting experiences and feelings.

To this end, a bivariate ordinal model was adopted, allowing for an analysis of stress factors and their interactions with key exploratory variables, including income, age, and choice of transportation mode. Interestingly, the results obtained from the context of Santiago, Chile, a region characterized by a predominance of middle and low-income populations according to the research findings, revealed intriguing patterns. The study found that commuting stress influences people in different ways regarding their age. Moreover, commuting stress at higher levels decreases at elevated age levels. This trend remains steady as commuters gain higher economic status and have access to alternative modes of transportation beyond public means. Policymakers and transportation planners should consider the complex interplay of the following clusters according to the result of this research to improve commuting experiences. The first encompasses factors such as income status, choice among different modes of transportation, and age. The second pertains to commuting stress and the importance of stress from commuters' viewpoint. A salient example of the consequence of this interplay, is evident in the research, where normalization a coping strategy implying eliminating some aspects of travel, is employed, showcasing both potential advantages and drawbacks. The findings suggest that promoting active travel options could contribute to a happier commuting experience, emphasizing the importance of understanding coping mechanisms across different commuter groups for the design of effective policies.

The implications of these findings extend to the domain of transportation system planning and urban development. By shedding light on the challenges caused by commuting stress and highlighting effective coping mechanisms, this research holds the potential to understand how people deal with commuting stress during their regular trips. Furthermore, the gained insights can inform urban planning initiatives and facilitate the commuting experience by considering commuters' experiences and the associated factors. Ultimately, the integration of these insights into policies and practices has the capacity to cultivate sustainable and resilient communities, which thrive even when facing the inevitable stresses associated with daily commuting.

This research makes a two-fold contribution. First, it compiles an extensive array of data including socio-demographics, health metrics, feelings and emotions, built environment, and work commute-related details, all presented in a comprehensive and reproducible data package format. Subsequently, the study delves into the commuting stress analysis and identifies the various coping strategies employed by commuters. The data used for the analysis have been derived from the demographics and health information sections of the dataset. Serving as a reproducible data package, it provides a robust foundation for future research endeavours. Future researchers can have access to the data set as an open source data set allowing them to understand the representativeness of this data package and enable them to replicate various stages where needed.