Travel experience in public transport: Experience sampling and cardiac activity data for spatial analysis

TL;DR

This study combines physiological and subjective data to analyze public transport experiences, identifying stress and satisfaction hotspots to improve user experience and promote greener transportation options.

Contribution

It introduces a geo-referenced dataset with cardiac activity and real-time reports, enabling spatial analysis of travel experiences in a real-world setting.

Findings

Identified significant stress hotspots and satisfaction cold spots during journeys.

Revealed differences in experiences based on age and gender.

Provided a foundation for combining qualitative and quantitative travel data.

Abstract

The transportation sector has the potential to enable a greener future if aligned with increasing mobility needs. Making public transport an attractive alternative to individual transportation requires real-world data to investigate reasons and indicators of positive and negative travel experiences. These experiences manifest not only in subjective evaluations but also in physiological reactions like cardiac activity. We present a geo-referenced dataset where participants wore electrocardiograms and reported real-time stress, satisfaction, events, and emotions while traveling by tram, train, and bus. An interactive experience map helps to visually explore the data, with benchmark analyses identifying significant stress hot spots and satisfaction cold spots during journeys. Events and emotions in these spots highlight positive and negative travel experiences in an ecologically valid setting. Data on age and self-identified gender provide insights into differences between user groups. Despite including only 44 participants, the dataset offers a valuable foundation for transportation researchers and mobility providers to combine qualitative and quantitative methods for identifying public transportation users' needs.