Revisiting the impact of teleworking on activity-travel behavior using recent data and sequence-based analytical technique

Telecommuting and telework is the use of information and telecommunication technology to replace the more traditional working at workplaces and traveling to work. In the 1970s telecommuting was envisioned as a policy tool in a Travel Demand Management (TDM) toolkit with hopes it will help us decrease congestion, air pollution, and waste of resources. Legislation and planning at many levels of government support telecommuting as a measure to benefit the public, employers, and employees.The beneficial impacts of telecommuting on transportation are questioned today as new evidence and analysis emerge. We also face a rapid transformation of work, workplaces, and as a consequence telework. In this project we revisit telecommuting and its relationship with travel behavior to assess its efficacy as a policy tool in a multipronged way. First, we develop a new analytical tool based on sequence analysis of activity and travel patterns at fine temporal and spatial resolutions. This replaces daily summary indicators that mask person variation in travel patterns. Second, we apply this new tool to two recent travel behavior databases in California that are the California Household Travel Survey with data collected in 2012-13 and the National Household Travel Survey with data collected in 2017. Third, we perform analysis at different geographical and social contexts in California to assess if and how telework opportunities are correlated with daily activity and travel patterns. The project concludes with a synthesis of findings about emerging patterns and trends in telecommuting impacts in light of possible radical trends in work, workplaces, mobile work, and telework.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $99,564.00
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Department of Transportation

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  METRANS Transportation Center

  University of Southern California
  Los Angeles, CA  United States  90089-0626
• Project Managers:

  Brinkerhoff, Cort

• Performing Organizations:

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  3227 Cheadle Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
  , CA   
• Principal Investigators:

  Goulias, Konstadinos

• Start Date: 20200101
• Expected Completion Date: 20201231
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Telecommunications; Telecommuting; Telecommuting centers; Travel demand management
• Identifier Terms: California Household Travel Survey
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Data and Information Technology; Geotechnology; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01732414
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: METRANS Transportation Center
• Files: RIP
• Created Date: Feb 28 2020 12:39PM