Physical Activity Benefits of Mass Transit Commuting

Abstract

A total of 177 people including train and car commuters were observed. The people that were observed traveled from Northern New Jersey suburbs to New York City. They were either train or car commuters. The whole purpose of this study was to compare these two groups and see how much physical work out they get per day. It is a fact that the more inactive a person is, the more risk they have for suffering from an illness caused by the lack of physical activity. Some risk factors might be coronary heart diseases, non insulin dependent diabetes, colon cancer, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and other serious chronic conditions such as hypertension.



Hypothesis

Train commuters get more physical activity than car commuters.



Methods

Some ways that the car commuters were persuaded to engage in this cross sectional study were by advertisements in the newspapers, radios and EZ Pass, and by flyers that wee left in the windshields of parked cars. Train commuters were also given out flyers as a form of persuasion to agree into joining the study. Some of the requirements that needed to be met in order to be a participant were that the commuters had to make the same trip to work at least four days a week, have been commuting on this route for at least one year, and expecting to continue their commute for at least another year. Each person participating had a pedometer with them. The 120 pedometer recorded the number of steps each day a person took. The people were instructed to record the pedometer reading for that particular day.


Results

It was shown by the pedometer reading that train commuters took an average of almost 30% more steps per day than did car commuters. As shown in Figure 1 (Transportation Mode by Mean Daily Steps) there was a great difference between the amounts of steps a train commuter and a car commuter take daily.


Discussion

Although it was shown that train commuters have more physical activity than car commuters, most people still commute by car. The form of transportation that we decide to take on a daily basis has a significant affect on the amount of physical activity that a person engages in.
(Comment on this)
msdastagir 9:50a Physical Activity Benefits of Mass Transit Commuting

Abstract

A total of 177 people including train and car commuters were observed. The people that were observed traveled from Northern New Jersey suburbs to New York City. They were either train or car commuters. The whole purpose of this study was to compare these two groups and see how much physical work out they get per day. It is a fact that the more inactive a person is, the more risk they have for suffering from an illness caused by the lack of physical activity. Some risk factors might be coronary heart diseases, non insulin dependent diabetes, colon cancer, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and other serious chronic conditions such as hypertension.



Hypothesis

Train commuters get more physical activity than car commuters.



Methods

Some ways that the car commuters were persuaded to engage in this cross sectional study were by advertisements in the newspapers, radios and EZ Pass, and by flyers that wee left in the windshields of parked cars. Train commuters were also given out flyers as a form of persuasion to agree into joining the study. Some of the requirements that needed to be met in order to be a participant were that the commuters had to make the same trip to work at least four days a week, have been commuting on this route for at least one year, and expecting to continue their commute for at least another year. Each person participating had a pedometer with them. The 120 pedometer recorded the number of steps each day a person took. The people were instructed to record the pedometer reading for that particular day.


Results

It was shown by the pedometer reading that train commuters took an average of almost 30% more steps per day than did car commuters. As shown in Figure 1 (Transportation Mode by Mean Daily Steps) there was a great difference between the amounts of steps a train commuter and a car commuter take daily.


Discussion

Although it was shown that train commuters have more physical activity than car commuters, most people still commute by car. The form of transportation that we decide to take on a daily basis has a significant affect on the amount of physical activity that a person engages in.
(Comment on this)
msdastagir 9:46a Submitted to the Journal of Health Psychology:
Rail Commuting Duration and Passenger Stress
Gary Evans & Richard Wener

Summary

Background:
• More than a hundred million Americans commute to work every weekday
• This may be the most stressful aspect of work
• Commute times have increased due to longer dist. traveled and traffic
• Through past studies, psychologists have found that evidence of higher stress levels in those who use cars to commute is also evident in those who take the railway
• Further research has shown that these commuters show motivational deficits in task performance, and elevated blood pressure
• It has been proven in commuting drivers that due to traffic congestion, among other things, leads to frustration, irritation, etc. with elevated physiological stress and degraded task motivation
Hypothesis:
• The greater the commute length, the greater amount of stress indicated
• Things used to measure this stress: salivary cortisol, task motivation, and perceived stress
Methods:
• 208 rail commuters were recruited that use NJ Transit using flyers and announcements, participants were paid with a monthly rail pass
• What was done:
o Participants wrote down time of the start of trip and arrival at destination
o Commuting time ranges were from 45-180 minutes
o Commuters used train at least 3 times a week for at least 12 months
o Salivary cortisol was taken from them at the start of the trip at the same time of day and also was taken on a non-work day
o Motivation was measured using a proofreading task that was to be taken 10 minutes before the stop of the rider
o Perceived stress was measured through a 10 minute questionnaire that asked about background info, commuting route, train info, commuting stress and job stress using the Likert scale (measure from a scale of 1-10)
o Spouses also rated using a Likert scale that asked questions about interpersonal interactions
Results:
o Longer commutes were significantly associated with elevated cortisol levels, proofreading performance and perceived commuting stress
o Spousal ratings of commuter’s stress were unrelated to the duration of the commute
Discussion:
o Prior studies have revealed automobile commuting is stressful
o This studies shows how these effects also occur in those using the railroad to commute and goes even further to say the longer the commute, the more stress
o Longer commutes/high stress levels may interfere with active life-styles
o Data proves the need for greater pedestrian access to local recreational and retail activities
o Stress is linear with commute duration – showing commuting is an environmental stressor
o Research highlights the importance for more research in environment, health and behavior
o Experiment may not be a good representation of commuters in general because the commuters studied were all wealthy and educated
o Since cortisol samples are taken on non-working days as well, this may not have been a good comparison because sleeping habits could affect cortisol levels (this may be unlikely, though possible)
o Next step would be to examine the underlying psychological processes that might account for the impacts of commuting
o Questions to ask: how is worker conductivity affected over time by commuting? Does commuting duration affect morbidity?
(Comment on this)
candace_21 9:41a Journal Article- Crowding and personal space on the train: Please don't make me sit in the middle.

Author- Richard E. Wener, Gary W. Evans

Summary-

Background-
Recently, there have been reports of common discontent about crowding in commuter trains in metropolitan areas. However, this might not be a case of overly dense commuting trains; it can be a factor of personal space invasion. The definition of personal space would be the distance of people when they interact or do not interact. As personal space is slightly invaded, there is a sense of crowding and uncomfort. This study purpose is to find out whether is personal space has a significant role in the experience of crowding. Further more, this study has to account for differences in public's personal space.

Hypothesis-
Over crowding in commuter trains causes the personal space of an individual to become violated, in case making the person avoid the middle seat.

Methods-
In the experiment one hundred and thirty-nine adult commuters who commute from New Jersey into Manhattan, New York consisted of the participants. Each of the participants were took the same commuting route which had a duration of 83 minutes. To test stress levels, they collected saliva for cortisol levels twice in different conditions, calm and stressful. Further more, there was a proofreading test to exhibit stress levels and the affect it has on motivation. Also, mood was assessed on five scales such as content or frustrated. Also, crowding was distinguished by distal and proximal level.

Results-
Results on table one; table one not shown.

Discussion-
The results of this experiment correlated with previous studies. It was found that the proximal level of density is more likely to be the reason of feeling of personal space invasion. Also, the ratio of the number of people to seats in the area where the individual is standing correlates to stress directly. However, this study does not directly answer the question why people do not pick the middle seat. Yet, it does explain the theory in which why people do not pick the middle seat which is personal space intrusion. Thus, in suggestion, they concluded that seats should be larger or have a barrier where people can feel comfortable and take that middle seat.
(Comment on this)
candace_21 9:40a Submitted to the Journal of Health Psychology:
Rail Commuting Duration and Passenger Stress
Gary Evans & Richard Wener

Summary

Background:
• More than a hundred million Americans commute to work every weekday
• This may be the most stressful aspect of work
• Commute times have increased due to longer dist. traveled and traffic
• Through past studies, psychologists have found that evidence of higher stress levels in those who use cars to commute is also evident in those who take the railway
• Further research has shown that these commuters show motivational deficits in task performance, and elevated blood pressure
• It has been proven in commuting drivers that due to traffic congestion, among other things, leads to frustration, irritation, etc. with elevated physiological stress and degraded task motivation
Hypothesis:
• The greater the commute length, the greater amount of stress indicated
• Things used to measure this stress: salivary cortisol, task motivation, and perceived stress
Methods:
• 208 rail commuters were recruited that use NJ Transit using flyers and announcements, participants were paid with a monthly rail pass
• What was done:
o Participants wrote down time of the start of trip and arrival at destination
o Commuting time ranges were from 45-180 minutes
o Commuters used train at least 3 times a week for at least 12 months
o Salivary cortisol was taken from them at the start of the trip at the same time of day and also was taken on a non-work day
o Motivation was measured using a proofreading task that was to be taken 10 minutes before the stop of the rider
o Perceived stress was measured through a 10 minute questionnaire that asked about background info, commuting route, train info, commuting stress and job stress using the Likert scale (measure from a scale of 1-10)
o Spouses also rated using a Likert scale that asked questions about interpersonal interactions
Results:
o Longer commutes were significantly associated with elevated cortisol levels, proofreading performance and perceived commuting stress
o Spousal ratings of commuter’s stress were unrelated to the duration of the commute
Discussion:
o Prior studies have revealed automobile commuting is stressful
o This studies shows how these effects also occur in those using the railroad to commute and goes even further to say the longer the commute, the more stress
o Longer commutes/high stress levels may interfere with active life-styles
o Data proves the need for greater pedestrian access to local recreational and retail activities
o Stress is linear with commute duration – showing commuting is an environmental stressor
o Research highlights the importance for more research in environment, health and behavior
o Experiment may not be a good representation of commuters in general because the commuters studied were all wealthy and educated
o Since cortisol samples are taken on non-working days as well, this may not have been a good comparison because sleeping habits could affect cortisol levels (this may be unlikely, though possible)
o Next step would be to examine the underlying psychological processes that might account for the impacts of commuting
o Questions to ask: how is worker conductivity affected over time by commuting? Does commuting duration affect morbidity?
(Comment on this)
msdastagir 9:33a Journal Article- Crowding and personal space on the train: Please don't make me sit in the middle.

Author- Richard E. Wener, Gary W. Evans

Summary-

Background-
Recently, there have been reports of common discontent about crowding in commuter trains in metropolitan areas. However, this might not be a case of overly dense commuting trains; it can be a factor of personal space invasion. The definition of personal space would be the distance of people when they interact or do not interact. As personal space is slightly invaded, there is a sense of crowding and uncomfort. This study purpose is to find out whether is personal space has a significant role in the experience of crowding. Further more, this study has to account for differences in public's personal space.

Hypothesis-
Over crowding in commuter trains causes the personal space of an individual to become violated, in case making the person avoid the middle seat.

Methods-
In the experiment one hundred and thirty-nine adult commuters who commute from New Jersey into Manhattan, New York consisted of the participants. Each of the participants were took the same commuting route which had a duration of 83 minutes. To test stress levels, they collected saliva for cortisol levels twice in different conditions, calm and stressful. Further more, there was a proofreading test to exhibit stress levels and the affect it has on motivation. Also, mood was assessed on five scales such as content or frustrated. Also, crowding was distinguished by distal and proximal level.

Results-
Results on table one; table one not shown.

Discussion-
The results of this experiment correlated with previous studies. It was found that the proximal level of density is more likely to be the reason of feeling of personal space invasion. Also, the ratio of the number of people to seats in the area where the individual is standing correlates to stress directly. However, this study does not directly answer the question why people do not pick the middle seat. Yet, it does explain the theory in which why people do not pick the middle seat which is personal space intrusion. Thus, in suggestion, they concluded that seats should be larger or have a barrier where people can feel comfortable and take that middle seat.
(Comment on this)

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