To date, behavioral travel research has neglected to examine the role of mindfulness in the context of the work commute. Mindfulness is a psychological construct that involves a present-oriented, open, and nonjudgmental expression of conscious awareness. It has been associated with improvements to mental health, social engagement, and behavioral regulation. In this research, I examined ways in which users of different commuting modes (walkers, bicyclists, drivers, and bus users) perceive their journey to work from an affective stance. I then assessed commuter group differences with respect to dispositional mindfulness and time affluence (the perception that one has sufficient time to engage in pleasurable, meaningful activity). Finally, I explored direct and indirect relationships between mindfulness and commute-related attunement (the degree to which commuters find their work trip satisfying and peaceful), and how time affluence, commute-related stress, and competence partially mediate this relationship. I hypothesized that (a) non-motorized commuters would find their commute more affirming and less stressful than drivers or bus users; (b) that non-motorized commuters would report greater time affluence and mindfulness than drivers and bus users; and (c) that time affluence, competence, and stress would partially mediate a mindfulness-attunement relationship. I surveyed 786 university employees about their (a) relative degrees competence, stress, and attunement in the context of the work commute; (b) perceptions of time affluence over the previous month; and (c) levels of dispositional mindfulness. Our results revealed that bus users, walkers and bicyclists reported significantly less stress than drivers. Walkers and bicyclists reported greater positive journey-based affect than drivers and bus users. Additionally, walkers and bus users maintained relatively greater perceptions of time affluence than drivers. Structural equation models illustrated that mindfulness, operating through time affluence, competence, and stress both directly and indirectly enhances attunement to the commuting experience. Considered together, these findings suggest that in order to encourage individuals to engage in active transportation, it may prove profitable to enhance individual-level time affluence and sense of competence using non-motorized modes. This study also promotes the broadening of behavioral travel research to include investigations of ways in which mindfulness and elements of natural and built environments produce synergistic effects toward enhancing mental health.Master of City and Regional Plannin
