The Differential Accessibility Effects of Work from Home: Travel Behavior Outcomes and Transportation Equity Implications

Researchers have long highlighted the potential effects of telework on the geography of opportunity in metropolitan areas. Telework, despite increasing accessibility to certain job markets, can further cause employment and population to decentralize, facilitating a spatially dispersed pattern of metropolitan growth. This could exacerbate existing disparities and inequities, making it harder for disadvantaged and transit-dependent groups to access important opportunities. Similarly, the central city’s position in the geography of opportunity could continue to decline as jobs and services become more dispersed. Low-income and minority groups are likely disproportionately affected by the spatial reconfigurations caused by telecommunications. However, the lack of spatially disaggregated empirical data has made it difficult to predict the relative contributions of geographic locations, transportation modes, and telecommunications capabilities in determining accessibility differentials. The proposed research will address the following questions: How does work-from-home differentially impact the geography of opportunity and accessibility of population groups for jobs and other services? How can accessibility measures be updated to reflect changes in work-from-home adoption, travel frequency, pattern, and mode choice? What are the impacts of differential accessibility on travel behavior outcomes of essential and non-essential workers? What are the desirable changes in public transit services and TDM policies to help the spatially disadvantaged, especially essential workers, to reduce the accessibility gaps?

• Record URL:
  • https://tbd.ctr.utexas.edu/research-product/the-differential-accessibility-effects-of-work-from-home-travel-behavior-outcomes-and-transportation-equity-implications/

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $150,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552344815

  69A3552348320

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Understanding Future of Travel Behavior and Demand

  University of Texas
  Austin, TX  United States 
• Project Managers:

  Bhat, Chandra

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Washington, Seattle

  Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
  201 More Hall, Box 352700
  Seattle, WA  United States  98195-2700
• Principal Investigators:

  Shen, Qing

• Start Date: 20240101
• Expected Completion Date: 20250531
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; Equity; Spatial analysis; Telecommuting; Transportation disadvantaged persons; Travel behavior
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01948182
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Understanding Future of Travel Behavior and Demand
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552344815, 69A3552348320
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Mar 8 2025 11:35AM