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The impact of working from home on modal commuting choice response during COVID-19: Implications for two metropolitan areas in Australia

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

Abstract

The need to recognise and account for the influence of working from home on commuting activity has never been so real as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only does this change the performance of the transport network, it also means that the way in which transport modellers and planners use models estimated on a typical weekday of travel and expand it up to the week and the year must be questioned and appropriately revised to adjust for the quantum of working from home. Although teleworking is not a new phenomenon, what is new is the ferocity by which it has been imposed on individuals throughout the world, and the expectation that working from home is no longer a temporary phenomenon but one that is likely to continue to some non-marginal extent given its acceptance and revealed preferences from both many employees and employ where working from home makes good sense. This paper formalises the relationship between working from home and commuting by day of the week and time of day for two large metropolitan areas in Australia, Brisbane and Sydney, using a mixed logit choice model, identifying the influences on such choices together with a mapping model between the probability of working from home and socioeconomic and other contextual influences that are commonly used in strategic transport models to predict demand for various modes by location. The findings, based on Wave 3 (approximately 6 months from the initial outbreak of the pandemic) of an ongoing data collection exercise, provide the first formal evidence for Australia in enabling transport planners to adjust their predicted modal shares and overall modal travel activity for the presence of working from home.

Suggested Citation

  • Hensher, David A. & Balbontin, Camila & Beck, Matthew J. & Wei, Edward, 2022. "The impact of working from home on modal commuting choice response during COVID-19: Implications for two metropolitan areas in Australia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 179-201.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:155:y:2022:i:c:p:179-201
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2021.11.011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Zhu, Siying & Cai, Yutong & Wang, Mengtong & Wang, Hua & Meng, Qiang, 2023. "How will China–Singapore International Land–Sea Trade Corridor affect route choice behaviour? A discrete choice model," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 11-22.
    4. Li, Zheng & Zeng, Jingjing & Hensher, David A., 2023. "An efficient approach to structural breaks and the case of automobile gasoline consumption in Australia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    5. Hensher, David A. & Beck, Matthew J., 2023. "Exploring how worthwhile the things that you do in life are during COVID-19 and links to well-being and working from home," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    6. Balbontin, Camila & Hensher, David A. & Beck, Matthew J., 2022. "Advanced modelling of commuter choice model and work from home during COVID-19 restrictions in Australia," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    7. Magnus Moglia & Stephen Glackin & John L. Hopkins, 2022. "The Working-from-Home Natural Experiment in Sydney, Australia: A Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-21, October.
    8. Chen, Ruoyu & Zhang, Min & Zhou, Jiangping, 2023. "Jobs-housing relationships before and amid COVID-19: An excess-commuting approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    9. Ioanna Simeli & Georgios Tsekouropoulos & Anastasia Vasileiou & Greta Hoxha, 2023. "Benefits and Challenges of Teleworking for a Sustainable Future: Knowledge Gained through Experience in the Era of COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-30, July.
    10. Mostafa Ghodsi & Mahdad Pourmadadkar & Ali Ardestani & Seyednaser Ghadamgahi & Hao Yang, 2022. "Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Online Shopping and Travel Behaviour: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-18, October.
    11. Jinjia Liang & Tomio Miwa & Takayuki Morikawa, 2023. "Preferences and Expectations of Japanese Employees toward Telecommuting Frequency in the Post-Pandemic Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-16, August.
    12. Wang, Jinghua & Zhang, Zhao & Lu, Guangquan & Yu, Bin & Zhan, Chengyu & Cai, Jingsong, 2023. "Analyzing multiple COVID-19 outbreak impacts: A case study based on Chinese national air passenger flow," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
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    14. Xi, Haoning & Li, Qin & Hensher, David A. & Nelson, John D. & Ho, Chinh, 2023. "Quantifying the impact of COVID-19 on travel behavior in different socio-economic segments," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 98-112.

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