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Working from home 22 months on from the beginning of COVID-19: What have we learned for the future provision of transport services?

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  • Hensher, David A.
  • Beck, Matthew J.
  • Balbontin, Camila

Abstract

COVID-19 has delivered an unintended positive consequence through working from home (WFH). While it may be some time until we are able to indicate, with some confidence, the impact that WFH will have on traffic congestion and crowding on public transport, there is a sense already that it is a game changer, and indeed is one of the most effective policy levers that the transport sector has had for many years in ‘managing’ the performance of the transport network. This paper draws on multiple ways of survey data that have been collected since March 2020 when the pandemic first resulted in severe restrictions in Australia. We present the evidence up to December 2021 on the incidence of WFH in two geographical jurisdiction – the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area (GSMA) and South-East Queensland (SEQ) - and how it has been received by employees and employers from the height of restrictions up to a period when restrictions were relaxed, followed by further lockdowns throughout Australia. We show what this might mean for work productivity, lifestyle, and the changing preferences for passenger modes. With a growing preference, within some occupation classes, to WFH 1–2 days a week, and a good spread through the weekdays, we discuss what this means for the way we analyse the impact of transport initiatives on the performance of the transport network with a particular emphasis on the growth in suburbanisation of transport improvements, less costly service and infrastructure improvements, and the changing role of public transport.

Suggested Citation

  • Hensher, David A. & Beck, Matthew J. & Balbontin, Camila, 2023. "Working from home 22 months on from the beginning of COVID-19: What have we learned for the future provision of transport services?," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:98:y:2023:i:c:s0739885923000112
    DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2023.101271
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Barrero, Jose Maria & Bloom, Nick & Davis, Steven J., 2020. "Why Working From Home Will Stick," SocArXiv wfdbe, Center for Open Science.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hensher, David A. & Wei, Edward & Liu, Wen & Balbontin, Camila, 2024. "Profiling future passenger transport initiatives to identify the growing role of active and micro-mobility modes," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    2. Faber, R.M. & de Haas, M.C. & Molin, E.J.E. & Kroesen, M., 2024. "Investigating changes in within-person effects between attitudes and travel behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Working from home; Australian experience; Productivity; Strategic models; Public transport implications; Strategic impacts;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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