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How real is a reported desire to travel for its own sake? Exploring the ‘teleportation’ concept in travel behaviour research

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  • Marie Russell
  • Patricia Mokhtarian

Abstract

The ‘teleportation test’ has been used in travel behaviour research for more than a decade, as a means of assessing whether an individual views travel purely as a disutility. The teleportation concept has been used successfully in qualitative research to elicit responses and clarify attitudes to travel time. However, survey-based studies have revealed an apparent inconsistency, in that many people who report an ideal travel time greater than zero, and/or do not consider their travel time as wasted, also report wanting to teleport. This note reviews a range of studies involving the teleportation concept, highlights the inconsistency, suggests reasons for it, and proposes a research approach for testing the validity of those reasons. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Marie Russell & Patricia Mokhtarian, 2015. "How real is a reported desire to travel for its own sake? Exploring the ‘teleportation’ concept in travel behaviour research," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 333-345, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:42:y:2015:i:2:p:333-345
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-014-9546-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lothlorien Redmond & Patricia Mokhtarian, 2001. "The positive utility of the commute: modeling ideal commute time and relative desired commute amount," Transportation, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 179-205, May.
    2. Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Salomon, Ilan, 2001. "How derived is the demand for travel? Some conceptual and measurement considerations," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 695-719, September.
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    7. Carlton Basmajian, 2010. "“Turn on the radio, bust out a song”: the experience of driving to work," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 59-84, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hook, Hannah & De Vos, Jonas & Van Acker, Veronique & Witlox, Frank, 2021. "Do travel options influence how commute time satisfaction relates to the residential built environment?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Ye, Runing & De Vos, Jonas & Ma, Liang, 2020. "Analysing the association of dissonance between actual and ideal commute time and commute satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 47-60.
    3. van Wee, Bert & Mokhtarian, Patricia, 2023. "Escape theory: Explaining a negative motivation to travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    4. Patricia L. Mokhtarian, 2019. "Subjective well-being and travel: retrospect and prospect," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 493-513, April.

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