U Of M Researcher: Biking Found To Be The Happiest Form Of Transport, Public Transit The Least
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A researcher at the University of Minnesota is advising planners to promote biking in their communities if they want to design transport systems that would improve commuter well-being.
Yingling Fan, a professor that the university's Humphry School of Public Affairs, was a co-author on a study that found that cycling, when compared to driving, walking and taking public transit, is the mode of transport most associated with feelings of happiness.
The study looked at data from the 2012-2013 American Time Use Survey and analyzed how different modes of transportation shaped how people view their journeys in terms of positive or negative emotions. The study controlled for personal demographics, physical health and residential location.
While cycling was found to be most associated with happiness, public transit was found to be the least happy and least meaningful mode of transport.
According to the University of Minnesota, Fan says her research recommends that planners promote biking and figure out ways to make public transit less painful to commuters.
In Minneapolis, about 4 percent of commuters bike to work, according to U.S. Census data from 2017.