Impacts of Telecommuting and Remote Services on Transportation, Land Use, And Climate Change

Abstract California Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) can incorporate telecommuting and remote services (T&RS) such as e-learning, e-commerce, and telehealth in their sustainable communities strategies (SCS) to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While use and study of these strategies increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, their impacts are complex, dynamic, inequitable, and yet to be fully determined. Initial lockdowns saw clear freeways and cleaner air as T&RS usage increased. As public health restrictions softened and households and organizations returned to a new normal, T&RS use remained higher than pre-pandemic levels and still inequitable; however, VMT and emissions levels have returned, and public transit use has remained low. This raises critical questions about the transportation, land use, and emissions impacts of T&RS that this study will examine using publicly-available transportation data (U.S. Census, National Household Travel Survey, Google Mobility) and time-use data (American Time Use Survey), commercial transportation data purchased from Replica, ecommerce data from California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, survey instruments administered through Ipsos to capture travel behavior and patterns across MPOs, and survey instruments distributed to MPOs regarding SCS and to California organizations regarding telecommuting policy. Dr. Tianjun Lu (PI) of the project is the founder of the Built Environment, Air, and Mobility (BEAM) lab and has rich experience in community-based transportation measurements and modeling, air quality modeling, and environmental health. He will be responsible for investigate the impacts of telecommuting and remote services in California. Dr. Lu will provide policy recommendations for Metropolitan Planning Organizations implementing telecommuting and remote services. Finally, he will develop metrics to monitor telecommuting policies in California and help assist literature review.