Exploring the Impacts of Working at Home and Online Shopping on Post-Pandemic Travel and Transportation Policy in California

Research Team: Daniel G. Chatman (lead) and Yage Liu

UC Campus(es): UC Berkeley

Problem Statement: The COVID-19 pandemic of ongoing changes in the workplace and within households that have significantly influenced travel patterns. Foremost among these are two related trends: people working for pay at home, and increasing household reliance on online shopping and home package delivery. Household travel over this period has markedly changed, with a precipitous falloff in transit ridership and an increase in the share of trips conducted via auto.

Project Description: This research project explores how working from home and urban freight delivery have shaped household travel behavior in the post-pandemic period. Specifically, the project team will: (i) review empirical literature on trends in working from home and home freight delivery (and the relationship between them) before and during the pandemic; (ii) conduct data description and analysis of four national secondary data sources available through 2022, and explore the relationship between working at home, home freight delivery, online shopping, and patterns in trip frequency and distance by mode; (iii) conduct an online survey in one or more large metropolitan areas in California to explicitly investigate current self-reported and pre-pandemic household behavior, focusing on working at home, online shopping, home freight delivery, and travel behavior as mediated by occupation, income, neighborhood characteristics, and race/ethnicity; and (iv) as a final step, explore policy and planning responses by regional and local agencies.

Status: In Progress

Budget: $100,000