Walking to work can be faster—and healthier—than you think

A new proof-of-concept study from researchers at Bar-Ilan University reveals a surprising finding: incorporating more walking into public transportation commutes can improve health—without adding extra travel time.

The study, part of Prof. Jonathan Rabinowitz’s More Walking Project and conducted in collaboration with the Israeli Smart Transportation Research Center (ISTRC), analyzed potential commuting routes for over 2,100 employees traveling to Bar-Ilan University. By increasing the walking distance thresholds in trip planning, researchers found that most commuters could benefit from an average of nine minutes of walking—without lengthening their total travel time.

“This means you can leave home at the same time, get to work at the same time, and walk more along the way,” said Prof. Rabinowitz, from Bar-Ilan’s Weisfeld School of Social Work. “It’s a simple shift with significant benefits.” The research was conducted as part of Rabinowitz’s Wellness Research Lab.

The health implications are powerful. A brisk 20-minute walk per day has been shown to reduce the risk of early death by up to 25%. Integrating walking into daily commutes can thus be a practical and sustainable way to boost physical activity—especially for those who struggle to fit exercise into busy schedules.

The idea behind the study grew out of Prof. Rabinowitz’s personal experience helping his son recover from an injury. “We saw how impactful small, consistent steps could be. This led us to ask: What if our daily maps nudged us to walk just a bit more?”

Dubbed Hacking the Map Apps for Active Transportation, the study explored replacing the default “less walking” preference in navigation apps with a “more walking” option. The team found that, contrary to common assumptions, increasing walking did not necessarily increase commute times—and in some cases, it actually reduced them.

The research, recently published in BMC Public Health, was led by the late Bar-Ilan University researcher Dr. Yuval Hadas, along with graduate student Dan Katz and Prof. Rabinowitz. It represents the first phase of a broader national initiative to promote walking through smart transportation planning. The ongoing study now involves providing commuters with guidance on increasing walking using existing transportation apps and measuring how it affects their behavior.

Backed by the Israeli Smart Transportation Research Center at the Technion and supported by the Smart Mobility Initiative in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Council for Higher Education, this work stands at the intersection of public health, mobility, and technology.

The takeaway is clear: by making small tweaks to how we plan our daily travel, we can unlock big health benefits—without changing our schedules.

# # #

About the More Walking Project:
The More Walking Project is a population-based wellness initiative focused on promoting walking by modifying trip planning to incorporate more active transportation. The project aims to translate research insights into actionable lifestyle changes that promote health at scale.

---

---