Bicycling your way to happiness

Which mode of transportation makes you happier - Metro, bus or auto? Forget those this weekend and try riding a bicycle to gain maximum happiness on the way.

Investigating how emotions like happiness, pain, stress, sadness and fatigue vary during travel and by travel mode, researchers have found that bicycling is the best way to lift your happiness quotient up.

"We found that people are in the best mood while they are bicycling compared to any other mode of transportation," said Eric Morris, an assistant professor at Clemson University's planning, development and preservation department.

Bicyclists tend to be a self-selected group who are very enthusiastic about their mode of transportation.

"Bicyclists are generally younger and physically healthy, which are traits that happier people usually possess," Morris added.

Next happiest are car passengers and then car drivers.

Bus and train riders experience the most negative emotions.

"Understanding the relationship between how we travel and how we feel offers insight into ways of improving existing transportation services, prioritising investments and modeling the costs and benefits of travel," Morris noted.

The study, that utilised data from the American Time Use Survey collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was published in the journal Transportation.