A Minute More or Less
Public transport passengers often spend their travel time scrolling on their phones or listening to music, yet many still consider the time spent on board to be valuable.
K2 researchers Joel Hansson, Andreas Persson, and Helena Svensson from Lund University have studied how public transport passengers perceive their travel time and what activities they engage in during their journeys.
“Many public transport users view travel time as valuable—an opportunity to work, study, or reflect on their day. However, our study shows that the most common activities are scrolling on mobile phones and listening to music,” says Joel Hansson from Lund University.
The study combined a nationwide passenger survey with focus group discussions to explore how passengers make use of their time on board.
“The focus group discussions clearly showed that predictability is key. Delays and cancellations cause anxiety, especially when passengers need to transfer. Missing a connection can lead to significant delays,” Joel explains.
The findings indicate that passengers with slightly longer travel times—typically between 30 and 45 minutes—particularly value the possibility of reducing their journey time.
“For those with shorter trips, such as on city buses, travel time seems to matter less. But for regional bus passengers, the opportunity to shorten the journey is a high priority,” Joel notes.
However, passengers appear somewhat ambivalent about the importance of travel time. Few seem to make concrete use of time savings.
“It seems that the feeling of efficient travel time is what matters most—that the journey progresses at a steady pace without unexpected or unnecessary delays,” Joel suggests.
Despite changes in technology and the widespread use of mobile phones, passengers’ valuation of travel time appears to have remained largely unchanged over the past 10 to 15 years. Predictability remains the most important factor.
“The Swedish Transport Administration’s travel time valuation is based on the idea that travel time is a cost or a sacrifice. But many passengers actually consider it valuable time,” Joel Hansson concludes.
The full report is available via the link below. It is written in Swedish, but includes a summary in English.