Do teleworking and online shopping influence modality styles for work and shopping tours? A latent class cluster analysis

The large-scale adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) such as teleworking and online shopping affects mobility behavior on many dimensions. While a large body of research investigates the relationship between ICT use and various travel outcomes, the consideration of mode use has been limited, with most studies only focusing on a subset of modes and overlooking differences across travel purposes. Therefore, there remains a shortage of literature taking a comprehensive view of the multiple dimensions of mode use in the context of ICT use and capturing all principal modes that travelers may use. We investigate the relationship between an individual’s ICT use and their habitual mode use, termed modality style, which is considered an indicator of latent preferences for certain transportation modes. Using a one-week travel-activity diary from the 2019 Puget Sound Regional Household Travel dataset, latent class cluster analyses of work, grocery shopping, and non-grocery shopping tours are performed to distinguish modality styles for the respective travel purposes. The analysis finds a relationship between ICT use and modality style, and a distinct class of Non-travelers is found in the case of work and non-grocery shopping travel, consisting of individuals with high levels of teleworking and online shopping. A key outcome is the identification of modality styles that are characterized by moderate car use, frequent carpooling, and high levels of ICT use. Furthermore, the respective work travel modality style has lower household car ownership than the more car-centric modality style. Thus, this study not only contributes to unraveling the relationship between ICT use and mode use but also the relationship between ICT use and car ownership.