Impacts of Center-Based Te|ecommuting on Travel and Emissions: Analysis of the Puget Sound Demonstration Project

is one of ten regional units mandated by Congress and established in Fall I988 to support research, education, and training in surface transportation. The UC Center serves federal Region IX and is supported by matching grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the University. Based on the Berkeley Campus, UCTC draws upon existing capabilities and resources of the Institutes of Transportation Studies at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, and Los Angeles; the Institute of Urban and Regional Development at Berkeley; and several academic departments at the Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, and Los Angeles campuses. Faculty and students on other University of California campuses may participate in Center activities. Researchers at other universities within the region also have opportunities to collaborate with UC faculty on selected studies. UCTC's educational and research programs are focused on strategic planning for improving metropolitan accessibility, with emphasis on the special conditions in Region IX. Particular attention is directed to strategies for using transportation as an instrument of economic development, while also accommodating to the region's persistent expansion and while maintaining and enhancing the quality of life there. The Center distributes reports on its research in working papers, monographs, and in reprints of published articles. It also publishes Access, a magazine presenting summaries of selected studies. For a list of publications in print, write to the address below. The contents of this report reflect the views of the author who is responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the State of California or the U.S. Depaztment of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Abslract-Center-based telecommuting has many hypotheslzed benefits. To determine its value as a transportation demand management strategy, however, its travel-related benefits must be established quantitatively. This research provides the first analysis of the impacts of center-based telecommming on individual travel behavior and emissions, using travel diary data from the Puget Sound Telecommuting Demonstration Project. An analysis of personal vehicle usage for this small sample of workers showed that the number of vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) was reduced significantly as a result of center-based teleconu-nuting (from 63.25 miles per person-day on non-telecommuting days to 29.31 miles on telecommuting days). The reductions in weekday VMT comprise significant reductions ha commute-related VMT with insignificant changes in non-commute-related VMT. The number of personal vehicle …