Impacts of remote work on vehicle miles traveled and transit ridership in the USA

TitleImpacts of remote work on vehicle miles traveled and transit ridership in the USA
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2024
AuthorsYunhan Zheng, Shenhao Wang, Liu L, Aloisi J, Jinhua Zhao
JournalNature Cities
Abstract

Remote work's potential as a sustainable mobility solution has garnered attention, particularly due to its widespread adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study systematically examines the impacts of remote work on vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) and transit ridership in the United States from April 2020 to October 2022. We find that using the pre-pandemic levels as the baselines, a mere 1% decrease in on-site workers corresponds to a 0.99% reduction in state-level VMT and a 2.26% drop in Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)-level transit ridership. Notably, a 10\% decrease in on-site workers compared to the pre-pandemic level could yield a consequential annual reduction of 191.8 million metric tons (10%) in CO2 emissions from the transportation sector, alongside a substantial $3.7 billion (26.7%) annual loss in transit fare revenues within the contiguous US. These findings offer policymakers crucial insights into how different remote work policies can impact urban transport and environmental sustainability as remote work continues to persist.

URLhttps://mobility.mit.edu/sites/default/files/Remote_work_mobility.pdf
DOI10.1038/s44284-024-00057-1