IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cdl/itsdav/qt43b756qg.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Trade-Off Between Trips and Distance Traveled in Analyzing the Emissions Impacts of Center-Based Telecommuting

Author

Listed:
  • Mokhtarian, Patricia
  • Varma, Krishna

Abstract

Several travel indicators were compared between telecommuting (TC) days and non-telecommuting days for a sample of 72 center-based telecommuters in California. Distance traveled decreased significantly on TC days, with average reductions of 51 person-miles (58%) and 35 vehicle-miles (53%). When weighted by telecommuting frequency, average reductions of 11.9% in PMT and 11.5% in VMT were found over a five-day work week. Person-trips and vehicle-trips increased slightly (but not significantly) on TC days. This was due to statistically significant increases in commute trips by telecommuters (who more often went home for lunch on their TC days), partly counteracted by decreases in non-commute travel. The drive-alone mode share increased on TC days, both for all trips, and for commute trips in particular. Walking and biking shares also increased modestly on TC days, whereas shares of transit and ridesharing declined. Despite the increase in trip rates, TC-day reductions were found for all pollutants analyzed: 15% for total organic gas emissions, 21% for carbon monoxide, 35% for oxides of nitrogen, and 51% for particulate matter. The reduction in VMT more than compensated for the marginal increase in number of trips (and consequently, cold starts) on telecommuting days.

Suggested Citation

  • Mokhtarian, Patricia & Varma, Krishna, 1998. "The Trade-Off Between Trips and Distance Traveled in Analyzing the Emissions Impacts of Center-Based Telecommuting," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt43b756qg, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt43b756qg
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/43b756qg.pdf;origin=repeccitec
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Handy, Susan L. & Salomon, Ilan, 1995. "Methodological issues in the estimation of the travel, energy, and air quality impacts of telecommuting," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 283-302, July.
    2. Mokhtarian, Patricia L & Koenig, Brett E & Henderson, Dennis K, 1995. "The Travel and Emissions Impacts of Telecommuting for the State of California Telecommuting Pilot Project," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt6rw695kc, University of California Transportation Center.
    3. Varma, Krishna & Ho, Chaang-Iuan & Stanek, David & Mokhtarian, Patricia, 1998. "Duration and Frequency of Telecenter Use: Once a Telecommuter, Always a Telecommuter?," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt61t9j2vb, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    4. Henderson, Dennis K. & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 1996. "Impacts of Center-Based Telecommuting on Travel and Emissions: Analysis of the Puget Sound Demonstration Project," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt1250382t, University of California Transportation Center.
    5. Henderson, Dennis K. & Koenig, Brett E. & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 1996. "Using Travel Diary Data to Estimate the Emissions Impacts of Transportation Strategies: The Puget Sound Telecommuting Demonstration Project," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt0g01v83p, University of California Transportation Center.
    6. Patricia L. Mokhtarian, 1998. "A Synthetic Approach to Estimating the Impacts of Telecommuting on Travel," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(2), pages 215-241, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Walls, Margaret & Safirova, Elena, 2004. "A Review of the Literature on Telecommuting and Its Implications for Vehicle Travel and Emissions," Discussion Papers 10492, Resources for the Future.
    2. Gheyath Chalabi & Hussein Dia, 2024. "The Impacts of Remote Work and Attitudinal Shifts on Commuting Reductions in Post-COVID Melbourne, Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-30, August.
    3. Gheyath Chalabi & Hussein Dia, 2024. "Telecommuting and Travel Behaviour: A Survey of White-Collar Employees in Adelaide, Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-28, March.
    4. Prager, Fynnwin & Rhoads, Mohja & Martínez, Jose N., 2022. "The COVID-19 economic shutdown and the future of flexible workplace practices in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 241-255.
    5. Bhat, Chandra R. & Sivakumar, Aruna & Axhausen, Kay W., 2003. "An analysis of the impact of information and communication technologies on non-maintenance shopping activities," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 857-881, December.
    6. Choo, Sangho, 2003. "Aggregate Relationships between Telecommunications and Travel: Structural Equation Modeling of Time Series Data," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt4p78h623, University of California Transportation Center.
    7. Golob, Thomas F., 2002. "travelbehavior.com - Activity Approaches to Modeling the Effects of Information Technology on Personal Travel Behavior," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt9t40s1mc, University of California Transportation Center.
    8. Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Bagley, Michael N., 2000. "Modeling employees' perceptions and proportional preferences of work locations: the regular workplace and telecommuting alternatives," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 223-242, May.
    9. Choo, Sangho & Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Salomon, Ilan, 2002. "Impacts of Home-Based Telecommuting on Vehicle-Miles Traveled: A Nationwide Time Series Analysis," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt2gj976x6, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    10. Kim, Seung-Nam & Choo, Sangho & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2015. "Home-based telecommuting and intra-household interactions in work and non-work travel: A seemingly unrelated censored regression approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 197-214.
    11. Ugo Lachapelle & Georges A Tanguay & Léa Neumark-Gaudet, 2018. "Telecommuting and sustainable travel: Reduction of overall travel time, increases in non-motorised travel and congestion relief?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(10), pages 2226-2244, August.
    12. Varma, Krishna & Ho, Chaang-Iuan & Stanek, David & Mokhtarian, Patricia, 1998. "Duration and Frequency of Telecenter Use: Once a Telecommuter, Always a Telecommuter?," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt61t9j2vb, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    13. Brown, Colby & Balepur, Prashant & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2005. "Communication Chains: A Methodology for Assessing the Effects of the Internet on Communication and Travel," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt4cf351bc, University of California Transportation Center.
    14. Jain, Taru & Currie, Graham & Aston, Laura, 2022. "COVID and working from home: Long-term impacts and psycho-social determinants," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 52-68.
    15. Galit Cohen-Blankshtain & Peter Nijkamp & Kees van Montfort, 2004. "Modelling ICT Perceptions and Views of Urban Front-liners," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(13), pages 2647-2667, December.
    16. Rhodes, Joshua D. & Cole, Wesley J. & Upshaw, Charles R. & Edgar, Thomas F. & Webber, Michael E., 2014. "Clustering analysis of residential electricity demand profiles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 461-471.
    17. Caldarola, Bernardo & Sorrell, Steve, 2022. "Do teleworkers travel less? Evidence from the English National Travel Survey," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 282-303.
    18. Muhammad, Saim & de Jong, Tom & Ottens, Henk F.L., 2008. "Job accessibility under the influence of information and communication technologies, in the Netherlands," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 203-216.
    19. Nayak, Suchismita & Pandit, Debapratim, 2021. "Potential of telecommuting for different employees in the Indian context beyond COVID-19 lockdown," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 98-110.
    20. Pirdavani, Ali & Bellemans, Tom & Brijs, Tom & Kochan, Bruno & Wets, Geert, 2014. "Assessing the road safety impacts of a teleworking policy by means of geographically weighted regression method," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 96-110.
    21. Alexander, Bayarma & Ettema, Dick & Dijst, Martin, 2010. "Fragmentation of work activity as a multi-dimensional construct and its association with ICT, employment and sociodemographic characteristics," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 55-64.
    22. Graham-Rowe, Ella & Skippon, Stephen & Gardner, Benjamin & Abraham, Charles, 2011. "Can we reduce car use and, if so, how? A review of available evidence," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 401-418, June.
    23. Nicholas S. Caros & Jinhua Zhao, 2022. "Preparing urban mobility for the future of work," Papers 2201.01321, arXiv.org.
    24. Andrew Hook & Victor Court & Benjamin K Sovacool & Steven Sorrell, 2020. "A Systematic Review of the Energy and Climate Impacts of Teleworking," Working Papers hal-03192905, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Golob, Thomas F., 2002. "travelbehavior.com - Activity Approaches to Modeling the Effects of Information Technology on Personal Travel Behavior," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt9t40s1mc, University of California Transportation Center.
    2. Choo, Sangho, 2003. "Aggregate Relationships between Telecommunications and Travel: Structural Equation Modeling of Time Series Data," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt4p78h623, University of California Transportation Center.
    3. Choo, Sangho & Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Salomon, Ilan, 2002. "Impacts of Home-Based Telecommuting on Vehicle-Miles Traveled: A Nationwide Time Series Analysis," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt2gj976x6, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    4. Patricia L. Mokhtarian, 1998. "A Synthetic Approach to Estimating the Impacts of Telecommuting on Travel," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(2), pages 215-241, February.
    5. Melo, Patrícia C. & de Abreu e Silva, João, 2017. "Home telework and household commuting patterns in Great Britain," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 1-24.
    6. Walls, Margaret & Safirova, Elena, 2004. "A Review of the Literature on Telecommuting and Its Implications for Vehicle Travel and Emissions," Discussion Papers 10492, Resources for the Future.
    7. Kong, Hui & Moody, Joanna & Zhao, Jinhua, 2020. "ICT’s impacts on ride-hailing use and individual travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1-15.
    8. Balepur, Prashant Narayan, 1998. "Impacts of Computer-Mediated Communication on Travel and Communication Patterns: The Davis Community Network Study," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt6cb1f85c, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    9. Margaret Walls & Peter Nelson & Elena Safirova, 2005. "Telecommuting and environmental policy - lessons from the Ecommute program," ERSA conference papers ersa05p801, European Regional Science Association.
    10. Pengyu Zhu & Liping Wang & Yanpeng Jiang & Jiangping Zhou, 2018. "Metropolitan size and the impacts of telecommuting on personal travel," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 385-414, March.
    11. Andrew Hook & Victor Court & Benjamin K Sovacool & Steven Sorrell, 2020. "A Systematic Review of the Energy and Climate Impacts of Teleworking," Working Papers hal-03192905, HAL.
    12. Kim, Seung-Nam & Choo, Sangho & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2015. "Home-based telecommuting and intra-household interactions in work and non-work travel: A seemingly unrelated censored regression approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 197-214.
    13. Bhat, Chandra R. & Sivakumar, Aruna & Axhausen, Kay W., 2003. "An analysis of the impact of information and communication technologies on non-maintenance shopping activities," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 857-881, December.
    14. Brown, Austin L. & Sperling, Daniel & Austin, Bernadette & DeShazo, JR & Fulton, Lew & Lipman, Timothy & Murphy, Colin W & Saphores, Jean Daniel & Tal, Gil & Abrams, Carolyn & Chakraborty, Debapriya &, 2021. "Driving California’s Transportation Emissions to Zero," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt3np3p2t0, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    15. Dissanayake, Dilum & Morikawa, Takayuki, 2008. "Impact assessment of satellite centre-based telecommuting on travel and air quality in developing countries by exploring the link between travel behaviour and urban form," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 883-894, July.
    16. Pengyu Zhu, 2013. "Telecommuting, Household Commute and Location Choice," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(12), pages 2441-2459, September.
    17. Ozbilen, Basar & Wang, Kailai & Akar, Gulsah, 2021. "Revisiting the impacts of virtual mobility on travel behavior: An exploration of daily travel time expenditures," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 49-62.
    18. Shafizadeh, K. & Niemeier, D. & Mokhtarian, P. & Salomon, I., 1998. "The Costs And Benefits Of Telecommuting: An Evaluation Of Macro-scale Literature," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt1f01c191, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    19. Dwi Prasetyanto & Muhamad Rizki & Yos Sunitiyoso, 2022. "Online Learning Participation Intention after COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia: Do Students Still Make Trips for Online Class?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Essbaumer, Elisabeth, 2022. "Home Office is here to stay? Access to Home Office and Remote Work Potentials across Swiss Industries," Economics Working Paper Series 2213, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt43b756qg. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Lisa Schiff (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/itucdus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.