Shifted out: the well-being and justice implications of evening and night commuting

This study analyses shift work commuting. We ask: who works evening and night shifts, how do they commute, and how does working these shifts impact activity participation and wellbeing? We answer these questions using two national datasets. Our results offer four overarching findings. First, we find significant demographic differences along lines of race, poverty status, immigration, and household type, differences reflecting occupational segregation. Black, Filipino, South Asian, and Indigenous commuters are significantly overrepresented. Second, evening and night shift workers are more likely to commute as car passengers or by bus or walking. Third, we find limited evidence that shift workers make fewer overall trips throughout the day. Fourth, we find that while shift workers have significantly lower life satisfaction, auto ownership may ameliorate this impact. In light of these results, we conclude that improving the transport situation for shift-workers is essential to advancing both wellbeing and transportation justice.