The work comes from psychologists Gregory Owen Thomas and Ian Walker of the University of Bath in the U.K., who have studied the overlap of habits and commuting in the past. For the present study, Thomas and Walker collected data on the travel routines of roughly 1,600 staff and students who made regular trips to campus by driving (37 percent), riding the bus (34 percent), cycling (7 percent), or walking (16 percent). Participants also completed a series of standard self-report assessments, including one on the habit strength of their preferred travel mode. To the surprise of Thomas and Walker, who suspected that weather might make non-drivers frequently adjust their travel patterns, participants who commuted by bike or on foot showed significantly stronger habits than those who traveled by bus or car. On a scale from 1 to 7, with 7 being the strongest, walkers and cyclists each rated their commuting habit at roughly 5.2. Bus riders reported an average of 4.8?and drivers came in dead last, at an average below 4.7. |
