Algorithmic Control and Psychological Risk in Digitally Managed Public Transport Systems: Implications for Occupational Mental Health

Public transport systems increasingly adopt algorithmic management through GPS surveillance, rating systems, and automated sanctions, yet the psychological mechanisms linking these technologies to workers’ mental health remain poorly understood and theoretically fragmented. To develop an integrated multilevel theoretical framework synthesizing pathways from algorithmic control mechanisms to psychological risk in public transport drivers. PRISMA-guided systematic integrative review of 48 peer-reviewed studies (2016–2025) from 4,812 initial records sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed. Structured data extraction captured control mechanisms, psychological outcomes, and mediating pathways. Thematic synthesis integrated Job DemandControl Model, Conservation of Resources Theory, and Algorithmic Management Theory. Four control mechanisms emerged: GPS tracking (panoptic surveillance), rating systems (emotional labour demands), dynamic pricing (income volatility), and automated sanctions (deactivation fear). Platform workers experience 59.6% higher digital speed determination and 36.3% more third-party ratings than traditional workers. The trilevel framework (technological → organizational → psychological) yielded six propositions: surveillance intensity → hyper-vigilance (β = -4.213), algorithmic opacity → procedural anxiety, income volatility → depressive symptoms (23 - 41% prevalence), rating pressure → emotional exhaustion (41–67% high burnout), task defragmentation → reduced accomplishment, and deactivation fear → chronic precarity (78% report chronic fear). Algorithmic management operates as psychological governance eroding worker mental health through surveillance, opacity, and precarity. Human-in-command regulation requires: algorithmic transparency mandates, mandatory mental health risk audits, participatory co-design, human review of deactivations, and minimum wage protections aligned with ILO principles.

Keywords: Algorithmic Management, Digital Surveillance, Occupational Mental Health, Psychological Governance, Public Transport, Systematic Review.