Browsing by Author "Beck M. J."

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    How are life satisfaction, concern towards the use of public transport and other underlying attitudes affecting mode choice for commuting trips? a case study in Sydney from 2020 to 2022
    (2023) Balbontin Tahnuz, Camila; Hensher D. A.; Beck M. J.
    COVID-19 had unprecedented consequences in our daily routines and habits. From a transportation context, there is the potential for unintended positive consequences on sustainability made possible by working remotely or from home (WFH) which reduced mobility significantly. However, there were some significant negative effects such as the increase of car use leading to congestion and erosion of sustainability gains. This paper uses data collected during the three years of the pandemic (2020, 2021 and 2022) in two metropolitan areas in Australia to estimate the changes in workers’ daily decision to not work, WFH or to commute by different modes of transport with a special focus on active modes and public transport. A hybrid choice model is estimated which includes three latent variables: life satisfaction, concern towards the use of public transport, and social-meeting loving attitude. Results suggest that WFH has settled as a valid and efficient alternative to a regular workplace, given the reduced stigmas employers increasingly support this flexible hybrid working model. Moreover, results show that the majority of these “saved” commuting trips were previously by car, and not by more sustainable options such as public transport and active modes. If respondents do not have the option to WFH and thus have to attend the workplace, the increase in commuting trips tends to be by car, despite evidence of some amount of return to public transport.
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    The influence of working from home and underlying attitudes on the number of commuting and non-commuting trips by workers during 2020 and 2021 pre- and post-lockdown in Australia
    (2024) Balbontin Tahnuz, Camila; Hensher D. A.; Beck M. J.
    Since the start of 2020, we have seen major changes in the way communities operate. Mobility behaviour has been drastically impacted by work from home (WFH) and by lockdowns and restrictions in different jurisdictions. This study investigates the influence of WFH and different lockdown patterns on commuting and non-commuting trips in Australia by workers between early 2020 and late 2021. The data includes three waves of data collection to represent different lockdown periods. A multiple discrete–continuous extreme value (MDCEV) model is estimated to represent the number of one-way trips undertaken weekly with different purposes (commuting, work-related, education, shopping, personal business/social recreation), and by different modes (car, public transport, active modes). Explanatory variables include socioeconomic characteristics, location, the time period during the pandemic (i.e., waves). In addition, latent variables were included representing underlying attitudes such as satisfaction towards life or concern about the use of public transport – which might certainly play an important role in understanding individual weekly travel behaviour decisions. The model structure has the advantage that it estimates commuting and non-commuting activity together, allowing for a substitution effect between them. The results suggest that across all waves and jurisdictions, respondents who WFH more are more likely to have a higher number of shopping trips and personal business/social recreation trips, perhaps substituting these trips in replacement of their lesser commuting trips. Interestingly, all other influences held constant, individuals who are more concerned about the use of public transport are more likely to undertake commuting trips by all modes, more likely to do shopping trips, and less likely to undertake personal business/social recreation trips – suggesting they are prioritising essential trips rather than social/personal trips and perceive the risk of COVID-19 to be higher due to this travel.