Abstract:

A healthy, effective, and sustainable society benefits from raising commuter satisfaction and subjective well-being. In this respect, transport mode choice is commonly recognized as one of the key factors associated with commute satisfaction and commuters' subjective well-being. However, few studies have investigated how e-moped, one of the most popular commute transport modes in China, shapes residents' commute satisfaction and subjective well-being, although e-moped ownership in China is extremely great. The authors conducted an empirical study on the impact of commuting by e-mopeds, using survey data from eight residential communities in Shanghai. A path analysis model was established to investigate the relationships between commute characteristics (including commute distance, commute time, commute costs, transport mode choice, transport environment), socio-demographics, commute satisfaction, and subjective well-being. The model results showed that commute satisfaction positively correlated with commuters’ subjective well-being. However, the relationship between transport mode choice and commute satisfaction was demonstrated not straightforward but fully mediated by commute time and commute costs which both showed a negative impact on commute satisfaction. In this case, using active modes was revealed to lead to a happier work commute than using private cars, whereas bus riders were at the bottom of the list as expected. Surprisingly, the use of e-mopeds resulted in the second highest total effects on the increase of commute satisfaction and subjective well-being due to less commute time and lower commute costs. Additionally, the impacts of e-moped substitution were studied. The findings showed that commuters who take buses had the greatest potential to switch to e-mopeds, however, it was difficult to allow e-moped users to switch to other commuter transportation modes. Given this situation, it made sense to support the growth of e-mopeds in Shanghai, and this study provided specific suggestions for doing so.