IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v85y2020ics0966692319305472.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Telecommuting and other trips: an English case study

Author

Listed:
  • Budnitz, Hannah
  • Tranos, Emmanouil
  • Chapman, Lee

Abstract

This paper investigates the importance of non-work travel to the growing population of telecommuters and the implications of this for sustainable travel patterns. Previous research has identified a link between increased online access to work and reduced proximity between residential and workplace locations. These studies raise concerns that as more people split their work activities between home and external workplace, whilst living in more dispersed locations, more unsustainable transport impacts will be generated, including higher vehicle mileage, car dependency, and less physical activity. This paper counters that the implications of telecommuting and other flexible working practices for sustainable travel behaviours may be more dependent upon the number and type of non-work journeys and the accessibility of amenities for these purposes rather than on the distance to the workplace for less frequent commuting journeys. Using the National Travel Survey for England, the travel behaviours of those who identify themselves not as home workers but as working from home at least once a week are compared to other working adults by measuring and modelling the number and purpose of trips within a week's travel diary, independent of distance or mode. Telecommuters record fewer commute trips, more trips for other purposes, and the marginal utility of additional non-work trips to telecommuters is greater than for many other socio-economic characteristics. Thus, addressing the accessibility of non-work destinations proactively through local planning has the potential to optimise the sustainability benefits of telecommuting.

Suggested Citation

  • Budnitz, Hannah & Tranos, Emmanouil & Chapman, Lee, 2020. "Telecommuting and other trips: an English case study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:85:y:2020:i:c:s0966692319305472
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102713
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692319305472
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102713?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marsden, Greg & Docherty, Iain, 2013. "Insights on disruptions as opportunities for transport policy change," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 46-55.
    2. Lavieri, Patrícia S. & Dai, Qichun & Bhat, Chandra R., 2018. "Using virtual accessibility and physical accessibility as joint predictors of activity-travel behavior," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 527-544.
    3. Duco Vos & Evert Meijers & Maarten Ham, 2018. "Working from home and the willingness to accept a longer commute," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 61(2), pages 375-398, September.
    4. Wang, Yafei & Chen, Bi Yu & Yuan, Hui & Wang, Donggen & Lam, William H.K. & Li, Qingquan, 2018. "Measuring temporal variation of location-based accessibility using space-time utility perspective," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 13-24.
    5. Kang‐Rae Ma & David Banister, 2006. "Excess Commuting: A Critical Review," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(6), pages 749-767, May.
    6. Kwan, Mei-Po & Dijst, Martin & Schwanen, Tim, 2007. "The interaction between ICT and human activity-travel behavior," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 121-124, February.
    7. Melia, Steve & Chatterjee, Kiron & Stokes, Gordon, 2018. "Is the urbanisation of young adults reducing their driving?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 444-456.
    8. Palvinder Singh & Rajesh Paleti & Syndney Jenkins & Chandra Bhat, 2013. "On modeling telecommuting behavior: option, choice, and frequency," Transportation, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 373-396, February.
    9. Sangho Choo & Patricia Mokhtarian & Ilan Salomon, 2005. "Does telecommuting reduce vehicle-miles traveled? An aggregate time series analysis for the U.S," Transportation, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 37-64, January.
    10. Wee, Bert van & Geurs, Karst & Chorus, Caspar, 2013. "Information, communication, travel behavior and accessibility," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 6(3), pages 1-16.
    11. Donggen Wang & Fion Law, 2007. "Impacts of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on time use and travel behavior: a structural equations analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 513-527, July.
    12. Clark, Ben & Chatterjee, Kiron & Melia, Steve, 2016. "Changes to commute mode: The role of life events, spatial context and environmental attitude," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 89-105.
    13. Becky P. Y. Loo & Bo Wang, 2018. "Factors associated with home-based e-working and e-shopping in Nanjing, China," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 365-384, March.
    14. de Abreu e Silva, João & Melo, Patrícia C., 2018. "Does home-based telework reduce household total travel? A path analysis using single and two worker British households," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 148-162.
    15. Felstead, Alan, 2012. "Rapid change or slow evolution? Changing places of work and their consequences in the UK," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 31-38.
    16. Anastasios Noulas & Salvatore Scellato & Renaud Lambiotte & Massimiliano Pontil & Cecilia Mascolo, 2012. "A Tale of Many Cities: Universal Patterns in Human Urban Mobility," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-10, May.
    17. Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Chen, Cynthia, 2004. "TTB or not TTB, that is the question: a review and analysis of the empirical literature on travel time (and money) budgets," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 38(9-10), pages 643-675.
    18. Zhou, Jiangping, 2012. "Sustainable commute in a car-dominant city: Factors affecting alternative mode choices among university students," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1013-1029.
    19. Haddad, Hebba & Lyons, Glenn & Chatterjee, Kiron, 2009. "An examination of determinants influencing the desire for and frequency of part-day and whole-day homeworking," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 124-133.
    20. Banister, David, 2008. "The sustainable mobility paradigm," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 73-80, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kogus, Ayelet & Brůhová Foltýnová, Hana & Gal-Tzur, Ayelet & Shiftan, Yuval & Vejchodská, Eliška & Shiftan, Yoram, 2022. "Will COVID-19 accelerate telecommuting? A cross-country evaluation for Israel and Czechia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 291-309.
    2. Prager, Fynnwin & Rhoads, Mohja & Martínez, Jose N., 2022. "The COVID-19 economic shutdown and the future of flexible workplace practices in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 241-255.
    3. Francesco Filippi, 2022. "A Paradigm Shift for a Transition to Sustainable Urban Transport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-27, March.
    4. Rizki, Muhamad & Basuki Joewono, Tri & Susilo, Yusak O., 2024. "Towards understanding travel in the digital age: A cross-dimensional one-week diary of individual virtual and physical activities in Indonesian cities," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    5. Stefaniec, Agnieszka & Brazil, William & Whitney, Warren & Caulfield, Brian, 2022. "Desire to work from home: Results of an Irish study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    6. Zhentao Li & Tianzi Li, 2022. "How Does City Size Affect the Cost of Household Travel? Evidence from an Urban Household Survey in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-20, June.
    7. Nadezda Krasilnikova & Meike Levin-Keitel, 2022. "Telework as a Game-Changer for Sustainability? Transitions in Work, Workplace and Socio-Spatial Arrangements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-13, June.
    8. Goode, Charles Edward, 2023. "TOD in regional urban growth boundaries (UGBs): A case of transit adjacent development or a strategic housing solution?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    9. Kunbo Shi & Long Cheng & Jonas De Vos & Yongchun Yang & Wanpeng Cao & Frank Witlox, 2021. "How does purchasing intangible services online influence the travel to consume these services? A focus on a Chinese context," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 2605-2625, October.
    10. Wang, Kaili & Hossain, Sanjana & Nurul Habib, Khandker, 2022. "What happens when post-secondary programmes go virtual for COVID-19? Effects of forced telecommuting on travel demand of post-secondary students during the pandemic," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 62-85.
    11. Giménez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2020. "Commuting and self-employment in Western Europe," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    12. Caldarola, Bernardo & Sorrell, Steve, 2022. "Do teleworkers travel less? Evidence from the English National Travel Survey," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 282-303.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elldér, Erik, 2020. "Telework and daily travel: New evidence from Sweden," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    2. Ghinami, Francesca, 2023. "Effects of remote work on population distribution across cities: US evidence from a QSE model," SocArXiv krnzq, Center for Open Science.
    3. Cavallaro, Federico & Dianin, Alberto, 2022. "Combining transport and digital accessibilities in the evaluation of regional work opportunities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    4. Minh Hieu Nguyen, 2021. "Factors influencing home-based telework in Hanoi (Vietnam) during and after the COVID-19 era," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 3207-3238, December.
    5. Minh Hieu Nguyen & Jimmy Armoogum, 2021. "Perception and Preference for Home-Based Telework in the COVID-19 Era: A Gender-Based Analysis in Hanoi, Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    6. Becky P. Y. Loo & Bo Wang, 2018. "Factors associated with home-based e-working and e-shopping in Nanjing, China," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 365-384, March.
    7. Minh Hieu Nguyen & Dorina Pojani, 2023. "Why are Hanoi students giving up on bus ridership?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 811-835, June.
    8. Georges A. Tanguay & Ugo Lachapelle, 2019. "Potential Impacts of Telecommuting on Transportation Behaviours, Health and Hours Worked in Québec," CIRANO Project Reports 2019rp-07, CIRANO.
    9. van Wee, Bert, 2022. "Accessibility and equity: A conceptual framework and research agenda," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    10. Lavieri, Patrícia S. & Dai, Qichun & Bhat, Chandra R., 2018. "Using virtual accessibility and physical accessibility as joint predictors of activity-travel behavior," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 527-544.
    11. Scheiner, Joachim, 2020. "Changes in travel mode use over the life course with partner interactions in couple households," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 791-807.
    12. Kogus, Ayelet & Brůhová Foltýnová, Hana & Gal-Tzur, Ayelet & Shiftan, Yuval & Vejchodská, Eliška & Shiftan, Yoram, 2022. "Will COVID-19 accelerate telecommuting? A cross-country evaluation for Israel and Czechia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 291-309.
    13. Andrew Hook & Victor Court & Benjamin K Sovacool & Steven Sorrell, 2020. "A Systematic Review of the Energy and Climate Impacts of Teleworking," Working Papers hal-03192905, HAL.
    14. Nayak, Suchismita & Pandit, Debapratim, 2021. "Potential of telecommuting for different employees in the Indian context beyond COVID-19 lockdown," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 98-110.
    15. Mouratidis, Kostas & Peters, Sebastian, 2022. "COVID-19 impact on teleactivities: Role of built environment and implications for mobility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 251-270.
    16. Melo, Patrícia C. & de Abreu e Silva, João, 2017. "Home telework and household commuting patterns in Great Britain," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 1-24.
    17. Kong, Hui & Moody, Joanna & Zhao, Jinhua, 2020. "ICT’s impacts on ride-hailing use and individual travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1-15.
    18. Varineja Drašler & Jasna Bertoncelj & Mojca Korošec & Tanja Pajk Žontar & Nataša Poklar Ulrih & Blaž Cigić, 2021. "Difference in the Attitude of Students and Employees of the University of Ljubljana towards Work from Home and Online Education: Lessons from COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-24, May.
    19. Wöhner, Fabienne, 2022. "Work flexibly, travel less? The impact of telework and flextime on mobility behavior in Switzerland," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    20. Crawford, Fiona, 2020. "Segmenting travellers based on day-to-day variability in work-related travel behaviour," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:85:y:2020:i:c:s0966692319305472. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.