Differences between telecommuters and commuters: the case of the Twin Cities metropolitan area

Abstract

This study highlights how telecommuting plays an important role in travel time, travel distance, and travel mode choices in the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minneapolis–Saint Paul by considering a multitude of travel modes, neighborhood characteristics, and travel purposes. First, this study finds that travel purposes differentiate the distribution of departure time between telecommuters and commuters. They show the biggest gap for the purpose of school and the smallest gap for other purposes. Second, telecommuters show a positive coefficient for the time model in the purpose of work and a negative coefficient for the distance model in the purpose of shopping. Third, this study finds that telecommuters do not prefer solo driving for all purposes. Instead, telecommuters are more likely to walk/bike in many cases (the purpose of work, leisure, home, and others). Also, they prefer a household carpool for the purpose of leisure and home, an inter-household carpool for the purpose of home, and public transit for the purpose of work and home. The findings highlight that governments and scholars should develop telecommuting planning according to a multitude of travel modes, neighborhood characteristics, and purposes.