Telecommuting Suitability Modeling: An Approach Based on the Concept of Abstract job

A new approach to modeling telecommuting suitability is proposed in this paper. The approach, based on the concept of abstract job, can be employed to assess the level of suitability for telecommuting of the bundle of tasks comprising a job. By abstract job is meant a way of considering jobs on the basis of their elements and tasks, representing the general structure of the job. In this study, the basic tasks a job is composed of, pertaining to telecommuting suitability, are identified. To show the applicability of the approach, discrete choice models are calibrated, based on a sample of 245 employees in Tehran, Iran, indicating that from among the 6 tasks identified, 5 tasks are significantly associated with the level of telecommuting suitability.     

Analyzing the preference for non-exclusive forms of telecommuting: Modeling and policy implications

This study examines three models of the individual's preference for home- and center-based telecommuting. Issues concerning the estimation of discrete models when the alternatives are non-exclusive are discussed. Two binary logit models are presented, one on the preference to telecommute from a center versus not telecommuting from a center (adjusted ² = 0.24), and the other on the preference to telecommute from a center over telecommuting from home (adjusted ² = 0.64). A nested logit model is also estimated on the following four alternatives: preferring not to telecommute, preferring either form of telecommuting, preferring to telecommute from home, and preferring to telecommute from a center (adjusted ² = 0.35).The results of the models illustrated the importance of attitudinal measures in measuring an individual's preference to telecommute. Oblique factor scores representing workplace interaction, stress, workaholism, internal control, and commute stress were statistically significant in some or all of the models. Other explanatory variables which were found to be consistently significant were education, job suitability, and age. Most respondents preferred either to telecommute from home or were indifferent between either form of telecommuting, which raises the question as to whether there really is a sizeable market niche to be filled by telecommuting centers, and hence whether they may make a significant contribution to transportation demand reduction.     

Metropolitan size and the impacts of telecommuting on personal travel

Telecommuting has been proposed by policy makers as a strategy to reduce travel and emissions. In studying the metropolitan size impact of telecommuting on personal travel, this paper addresses two questions: (1) whether telecommuting is consistently a substitute or complement to travel across different MSA sizes; and (2) whether the impact of telecommuting is higher in larger MSAs where telecommuting programs and policies have been more widely adopted. Data from the 2001 and 2009 National Household Travel Surveys are used. Through a series of tests that address two possible empirical biases, we find that telecommuting consistently had a complementary effect on one-way commute trips, daily total work trips and daily total non-work trips across different MSA sizes in both 2001 and 2009. The findings suggest that policies that promote telecommuting may indeed increase, rather than decrease, people’s travel demand, regardless of the size of the MSA. This seems to contradict what telecommuting policies are designed for. In addition, model results show that the complementary impact of telecommuting on daily travel is lower in larger MSAs, in terms of both daily total work trips and daily total non-work trips.     

On modeling telecommuting behavior: option, choice, and frequency

The current study contributes to the already substantial scholarly literature on telecommuting by estimating a joint model of three dimensions—option, choice and frequency of telecommuting. In doing so, we focus on workers who are not self-employed workers and who have a primary work place that is outside their homes. The unique methodological features of this study include the use of a general and flexible generalized hurdle count model to analyze the precise count of telecommuting days per month, and the formulation and estimation of a model system that embeds the count model within a larger multivariate choice framework. The unique substantive aspects of this study include the consideration of the “option to telecommute” dimension and the consideration of a host of residential neighborhood built environment variables. The 2009 NHTS data is used for the analysis, and allows us to develop a current perspective of the process driving telecommuting decisions. This data set is supplemented with a built environment data base to capture the effects of demographic, work-related, and built environment measures on the telecommuting-related dimensions. In addition to providing important insights for policy analysis, the results in this paper indicate that ignoring the “option” dimension of telecommuting can, and generally will, lead to incorrect conclusions regarding the behavioral processes governing telecommuting decisions. The empirical results have implications for transportation planning analysis as well as for the worker recruitment/retention and productivity literature.     

Why do you care what other people think? A qualitative investigation of social influence and telecommuting

The effect of social interactions on decision-making is a topic of current interest in the travel behavior literature. These interactions have been investigated primarily from an intra-household perspective, but increasingly too in other types of social settings. In the case of interactions within a workplace, it has been suggested that the decision to telecommute may have some important social components. Previous research has concentrated on social isolation, and the effect on job satisfaction of qualitatively different (i.e., telecommunications-mediated) relationships with managers and colleagues. A topic that remains unexplored is the way social norms, in effect the influence of other people’s behavior, may influence the decision to adopt telecommuting. In this paper we set to investigate, within a qualitative framework, the role of social contact in the process of acquiring information on, and making decisions about, telecommuting. The results indicate that social contact does play a subtle but non-trivial role in the adoption and continuation process, and offer some insights about the importance of the social dimension, institutional set-up, and how they interact to influence the decision to telecommute.     

Does telecommuting reduce vehicle-miles traveled? An aggregate time series analysis for the U.S.

. This study examines the impact of telecommuting on passenger vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) through a multivariate time series analysis of aggregate nationwide data spanning 1966–1999 for all variables except telecommuting, and 1988–1998 for telecommuting. The analysis was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, VMT (1966–1999) was modeled as a function of conventional variables representing economic activity, transportation price, transportation supply and socio-demographics. In the second stage, the residuals of the first stage (1988–1998) were modeled as a function of the number of telecommuters. We also assessed the change in annual VMT per telecommuter as well as VMT per telecommuting occasion, for 1998. The models suggest that telecommuting reduces VMT, with 94% confidence. Together with independent external evidence, the results suggest a reduction in annual VMT on the order of 0.8% or less. Even with impacts that small, when informally compared to similar reductions in VMT due to public transit ridership, telecommuting appears to be far more cost-effective in terms of public sector expenditures.     

Distributed work and travel behaviour: The dynamics of interactive agency choices between employers and employees

This paper develops a framework within which multiple agents make discrete choices in respect of a common objective – the determination of participation in distributed work, especially the opportunities and constraints associated with telecommuting. Ideas in discrete choice theory and game theory are combined to define a set of choice experiments in which employees and employers interact in arriving at a choice path in a distributed work context. A state choice experiment with offers and feedback, known as an interactive agency choice experiment (IACE), is empirically investigated in the context of telecommuting options with an exploratory sample of employees and employers in Sydney, Australia. The approach highlights the role of information and negotiation in breaking down the barriers to more flexible work activity, to deliver potential benefits to the transport system such as reduced traffic congestion and environmental sustainability. The paper identifies the types of incentives that an employee/er has to offer the employer/employee in securing effective telecommuting. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Commute responses to employment decentralization: Anticipated versus actual mode choice behaviors of new town employees in Kunming,China

This study examines workers’ mode-choice responses to a typical job decentralization policy implemented in China’s urban development – government job relocation (GJR) to new towns in the urban periphery. Broadly, the literature suggests that job decentralization tends to increase car commuting; however, little is known about the effects of China’s GJR initiatives on individuals’ commuting mode choices. Using Kunming as a case study, this study examines how workers’ commuting mode choices have shifted in response to the GJR policy. Our study analyzes two travel survey datasets that span the job relocation process: (1) stated preference (SP) data on workers’ anticipated mode choices after a move of workplace to a planned new town; and (2) revealed preference (RP) data on workers’ actual choices of commuting mode after their jobs were moved. The findings suggest that after job relocation, workers’ actual commuting modes shift from more sustainable modes towards cars. The determinants of workers’ mode choices differ substantially between the hypothetical and actual setting of job relocation. The anticipated mode choices are largely determined by socio-demographic characteristics whereas the actual mode choices are strongly influenced by travel time and housing locations. The evidence from this study offers two important implications for future planning practice of job decentralization. First, planners and policy-makers should be skeptical about the transportation benefits of job decentralization. Second, while SP surveys can assist planners to predict individuals’ mode-choice responses, the robustness of SP results should be carefully assessed before translating into the evidence base for informing job decentralization policy-makings.     

Commuting-related fringe benefits in the Netherlands: Interrelationships and company,employee and location characteristics

Mobility management measures taken by firms could potentially result in more sustainable transport choices and hence reduce traffic congestion and emissions. Fringe benefits offered to employees are a means to implement those measures. This paper explores the most common commuting-related fringe benefits currently provided by employers in the Netherlands, namely telework, flextime and allowance types like public transport passes, bicycle contribution, company cars and general financial compensation. By using the Dutch National Time Use Survey (TBO) 2005/2006, interrelationships among fringe benefits and correlations between company, employee, and (home and work) location characteristics and those employee benefits could be investigated. Logistic regressions and Tobit models are used for several estimations indicating the provision and the use of fringe benefits. The results show that relationships among fringe benefits exist, mainly between telework and flextime, but also between those flexible work arrangements and some types of commuting allowance. Furthermore, numerous job, person and geographical variables affect the probability of receiving and using the fringe benefits. For example, in the non-profit and the public sector sustainable commuting benefits are more often provided, the use of fringe benefits is strongly influenced by household composition and several allowance types show a significant correlation with the number of cars in the household. Moreover, firm location, in particular firm density, is highly related to mobility management measures taken by firms.     

Traffic reduction by telecommuting: A status review and selected bibliography

Telecommuting is defined as a subset of teleworking. Two main forms of telecommuting (home and regional center) are described. The means by which these forms of telecommuting may alter urban transportation patterns are outlined, followed by a review of the empirical evidence to date on the impacts and usefulness of telecommuting. Factors affecting the diffusion rate of telecommuting are discussed, including the commuting environment, technological sufficiency, technological familiarity, the social aspects of work, other telecommuter motivations, management issues, legal and regulatory barriers and incentives, and labor entitlement issues. A brief reference to other work in progress is followed by a set of forecasts of possible telecommuting futures.     

The acceptability of road pricing in Vienna: the preference patterns of car drivers

The acceptability of road pricing has attracted considerable attention among researchers over the last decade, as is evident in the amount of literature about transport and environmental economics. The general conclusion from these studies has been that there is low acceptability for road pricing among car users. In this paper, we add more knowledge to the existing literature by conducting an acceptability study of road pricing in Vienna, where such a study has never been conducted before. We used a replication study approach where a previous approach used in the EU research project AFFORD (acceptability of fiscal and financial measures and organisational requirements for demand management) was replicated for Vienna and further supplemented with a conjoint analysis. In order to examining whether the Vienna study confirms previous findings. We investigated the acceptability of two concrete policy packages factors influencing this acceptability, and preference patterns that can be used in designing a road pricing policy for Vienna. The survey reveals a higher acceptability if road pricing schemes lead to perceived personal benefits. According to the multivariate analyses, the “personal outcome expectations”, “social norm” and “perceived effectiveness” variables account for more than 50 % of the criterion variance and therefore these are the most influential factors. Road pricing schemes can be an effective transport management instrument for a city particularly if they are associated with direct investment in public transport and public infrastructure. Thus, personal benefits can be perceived more easily and direct effects can be expected.     

A bi-objective cyclist route choice model

It is widely acknowledged that cyclists choose their route differently to drivers of private vehicles. The route choice decision of commuter drivers is often modelled with one objective, to reduce their generalised travel cost, which is a monetary value representing the combined travel time and vehicle operating cost. Commuter cyclists, on the other hand, usually have multiple incommensurable objectives when choosing their route: the travel time and the suitability of a route. By suitability we mean non-subjective factors that characterise the suitability of a route for cycling, including safety, traffic volumes, traffic speeds, presence of bicycle lanes, whether the terrain is flat or hilly, etc. While these incommensurable objectives are difficult to be combined into a single objective, it is also important to take into account that each individual cyclist may prioritise differently between travel time and suitability when they choose a route.This paper proposes a novel model to determine the route choice set of commuter cyclists by formulating a bi-objective routing problem. The two objectives considered are travel time and suitability of a route for cycling. Rather than determining a single route for a cyclist, we determine a choice set of optimal alternative routes (efficient routes) from which a cyclist may select one according to their personal preference depending on their perception of travel time versus other route choice criteria considered in the suitability index. This method is then implemented in a case study in Auckland, New Zealand.The study provides a starting point for the trip assignment of cyclists, and with further research, the bi-objective routing model developed can be applied to create a complete travel demand forecast model for cycle trips. We also suggest the application of the developed methodology as an algorithm in an interactive route finder to suggest efficient route choices at different levels of suitability to cyclists and potential cyclists.     

The effect of neighbourhood characteristics,accessibility, home–work location,and demographics on commuting distances

The goal of this paper is to better understand home-to-work travel distances throughout the Montréal Metropolitan region. A simultaneous equation modelling analysis is carried out to jointly explain commuter trip length and home–work location as a function of neighbourhood typologies, commuter socio-demographics and measures of job and worker accessibility. First, a factor and cluster analysis of urban form is performed over the entire region on a fine-scale grid pattern. The outcome of this analysis is the classification of typologies at both home and job locations. Different measures of accessibility and commuter socio-demographics are then incorporated into the analysis. Varied data sources including a detailed Montréal Origin–Destination Survey on over 30,000 home-to-work automobile trips are analyzed. Among other results, commuters that live and work in a different sub-region almost double the average trip distance and although socio-economic factors have a statistically significant correlation with commuter distance, these factors have a marginal effect. Interestingly, our results highlight the importance of urban form and job accessibility. Deciding on whether to live and work in the same sub-region was modelled as an endogenous binary random utility model; unobserved heterogeneities seem to be simultaneously influencing both the home–work location choice and trip-to-work distances. Our results underscore the importance of home–work location with respect to urban form and job accessibility. Hence, policies that support more dense and mixed land-use in suburban areas would not be enough to reduce commuter distances. These actions should be accompanied by other policy initiatives to discourage long car trips.     

Telecommuting and travel: state of the practice,state of the art

This paper provides an overview of the status of telecommuting in the United States, especially as it relates to changes in travel behavior. Regarding the state of the practice, the paper discusses some refinements to the definition of telecommuting that have developed through increased operational experience. It reports several policy statements involving telecommuting, and explores the appeal of telecommuting as a public policy instrument. It highlights some trends in the implementation of home-based and work center-based telecommuting, and suggests that visible public-sector involvement has been crucial to the increased activity in this area.In sketching the state of the art, the paper outlines some frequently-stated hypotheses on telecommuting and travel behavior, and summarizes current empirical findings relating to those hypotheses. Finally, it suggests a variety of topics suitable for further research. These include studying factors influencing the ultimate adoption levels of telecommuting; impacts on energy/air quality, mode choice, and location/urban form; interactions with other transportation demand management strategies; relationships to the traditional urban travel demand forecasting process; cost/benefit tradeoffs; and telecommuting centers.     

Telecommuting and urban sprawl: mitigator or inciter?

There is some evidence to the effect that as cities become increasingly congested new housing starts occur at greater distances from urban centers while jobs tend to remain center-concentrated or develop in other suburbs. In either case, mean commute distances tend to increase. Telecommuting is seen as a means of increasing the jobs-housing balance in urban and suburban areas by enhancing the ability to move work to, or closer to, the workers' residences rather than requiring workers to commute to work daily. This has the immediate side effect of decreasing automobile congestion and associated energy consumption and air pollution. There is a possible longer term adverse impact of telecommuting resulting from its ability to decrease constraints on household location, thereby enhancing the rate of spread of suburbia. This paper reviews evidence concerning the possible effects of telecommuting on urban sprawl, as derived from a two-year test of telecommuting in California, and describes two scenarios of urban form development made more feasible by telecommuting.     

Time windows in workers' activity patterns: Empirical evidence from the Netherlands

This paper assumes that activities at the home and work location are important determinants of individuals' paths through time and space. Fixed activities at these locations determine to a large extent the duration and timing of time windows – blocks of time available for participation in travel and out-of-home non-work activities. Taking the time spent at home and at the workplace as a starting point, this paper classifies activity patterns on workdays into six groups with distinct home- and work-stay patterns. For this, data are used from the 1998 Netherlands National Travel Survey. The six clusters vary in terms of the duration and timing of time windows and some of the differences can be explained by commute characteristics, types of non-work activities performed, workers' sociodemographic attributes, and their spatiotemporal environment. However, the impact of sociodemographic and spatiotemporal variables on cluster membership is shown to be weak.     

Built environmental impacts on commuting mode choice and distance: Evidence from Shanghai

The impacts of the built environment characteristics in residential neighborhoods on commuting behavior are explored in the literature. Scant evidence, however, is provided to scrutinize the role of the built environment characteristics at job locations. Studies also overlooked the potential error correlations between commuting mode and commuting distance due to the unobserved factors that influence both variables. We examined the impacts of the built environment characteristics at both residential and job locations on commuting mode and distance, by applying a discrete-continuous copula-based model on 857 workers in Shanghai. In contrast with studies of Western countries, we showed residential built environment characteristics are more influential on commute behavior than the built environment characteristics at job locations. This suggests the importance of local specificity in policymaking process. We also found the proportion of four-way intersections, road density, and population density in residential areas are negatively associated with driving probability, with elasticity amounts of −1.00, −0.23, and −0.08, respectively. Hence, dense and pedestrian- and cyclist-oriented development help to reduce travel distance and encourage walking, biking, and transit modes of travel.     

Telecommuting and urban sprawl

This study examines what happens to city size when telecommuting occurs. It assumes that more telecommuting occurs when telecommuters’ labor cost share increases and/or workers adopt a more favorable attitude toward working from home. The study shows that telecommuting produces opposing forces that regulate the city size, one centralizing and the other decentralizing urban activities. These forces are examined in a city where workers and firms are given the option to freely mix working at the office and at home, and the city’s land use is endogenously determined. A rise in the productivity of an economy due to telecommunications technology could work to centralize urban activities, while urban contraction can occur with a fixed city population.     

The impact of transit station areas on the travel behaviors of workers in Denver,Colorado

Transit development is one planning strategy that seeks to partially overcome limitations of low-density single use car oriented development styles. While many studies focus on how residential proximity to transit influences the travel behaviors of individuals, the effect of workplace proximity to transit is less understood. This paper asks, does working near a light rail transit station influence the travel behaviors of workers differently than workers living near a station? We begin by examining workers’ commute mode based on their residential and workplace proximity to transit station areas. Next, we analyze the ways in which personal travel behaviors differ between those who drive to work and those who do not. The data came from a 2009 travel behavior survey in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area, which contains 8000 households, 16,000 individuals, and nearly 80,000 trips. We measure sustainable travel behaviors as reduced mileage, reduced number of trips, and increased use of non-car transportation. The results of this study indicate that living near a transit station area by itself does not increase the likelihood of using non-car modes for work commutes. But if the destination (work) is near a transit station area, persons are less likely to drive a car to work. People who both live and work in a transit station area are less likely to use a car and more likely to take non-car modes for both work and non-work (personal) trips. Especially for persons who work near a transit station area, the measures of personal trips and distances show a higher level of mobility for non-car commuters than car commuters – that is, more trips and more distant trips. The use of non-car modes for personal trips is most likely to occur by non-car commuters, regardless of their transit station area relationship.     

Forecasting telecommuting

Transportation planners increasingly recognize telecommuting as an important trend. But while they often advocate telecommuting as a transportation demand management strategy, transportation planners have made little progress toward incorporating telecommuting into transportation forecasts, at least partly because of the limited data available. In this paper we explore four alternative methodologies for forecasting telecommuting and discuss the kinds of data that must be collected before these methodologies can be applied. The first approach is trend extrapolation, using curves of technological substitution. Sufficient data are currently available to produce forecasts, albeit highly uncertain forecasts, using this approach. However, even with better data this approach does not address underlying factors and trends that will affect the future of telecommuting. As a result, we explore three additional approaches that should produce more reliable forecasts but which require new data and knowledge about telecommuting: analyzing the characteristics of telecommuters in contrast to nontelecommuters, analyzing factors affecting the individual choice to telecommute, and incorporating telecommuting into traditional transportation forecasting models.