Transportation

Drivers Have the Most Stressful Commutes

Transit riders and walkers, who avoid the “unexpected delays” of traffic, stack up better in a new survey.
KieferPix / Shutterstock.com

There’s nothing quite like the unpredictability of traffic when it comes to commuter stress.

So says a research trio that’s analyzed commuter survey results of people who walked, rode transit, or drove to work or school in Montreal. The survey measured the various objective (e.g. travel time budgets) and subjective (e.g. trip pleasantness) stressors felt by some 3,800 students, faculty, and staff of McGill University during their commute on a typical winter day. Drivers had the highest average stress, largely owing to “unexpected delays”: