The cost-of-living crisis and the freedom to move: mobility, participation and wellbeing under financial pressure

Rising living costs may reshape mobility not only by changing how people travel, but also by constraining the activities for which they travel. Yet these wider effects remain poorly understood because cost-of-living pressures, transport affordability, participation and wellbeing have largely been studied separately. Drawing on survey data from 1,532 Greater Sydney residents, this study examines financial stress as a multidimensional experience spanning housing, energy, fuel, food and other essentials. Segmentation analysis, exploratory factor analysis and hybrid ordered logit modelling identify distinct profiles of concern and examine how socioeconomic circumstances, perceived neighbourhood conditions and quality of life are associated with behavioural adaptation. Five profiles demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in the intensity and composition of financial pressure. Housing, food and energy costs emerge as the strongest sources of stress, while environmental concern remains salient but comparatively less immediate. Behavioural responses are selective: the largest reductions occur in eating out and leisure activities, while reductions in driving are more moderate, utility use remains comparatively stable, and some substitution towards public transport is evident. Renters and households experiencing mortgage stress report particularly broad reductions. The principal mobility consequence of cost-of-living pressure is therefore not wholesale mode switching, but the suppression of discretionary activities and associated trips. By integrating financial pressure, mobility, participation, neighbourhood experience and wellbeing, the study identifies an under-recognised pathway through which the cost-of-living crisis may restrict the freedom to move, deepen social exclusion and diminish wellbeing.