ROBÈRT (MSc in engineering physics and Lic. of technology) is a researcher in urban planning, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. In his past research, he has focused on assessment of company travel policies and alternative mobility management services as tools toward a more sustainable transport system. In most studies, discrete choice modeling has served an essential role in the evaluation and analysis of individual preferences and attitudes regarding the mobility management alternatives.
MARIA BÖRJESSON (MSc in engineering physics and Lic. of technology) is a researcher in transport and location analysis, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. Her research interest lies in development of tools for analysis and forecasting with applications in infrastructure, planning and spatial and environmental policy evaluation, and discrete choice modeling in particular.ABSTRACT: The aim of this article is to identify company and employee benefits from telecommuting. Telecommuting implies that a large proportion of the company's office space is unoccupied. To use this efficiently, flexible offices could be introduced in which the employees do not have their own office but use any desk in an open office space. In addition, if telecommuting implies reductions in office space in which employees donate the use of their homes-rent free-to the employer, it is quite fair for the employer to consider returning some of that savings to the telecommuters in compensation for the use of their homes. The results indicate that employees are in fact sensitive to the monetary compensation and that company benefits could be obtained.
Stockholm has set a target for greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2030, based on the United Nation's (IPCC) recommendations for an acceptable CO 2 level in the atmosphere. In this study we use a backcasting framework to analyze a range of specific transport policies and fuel technology related developments with respect to the emission target. Our study employs a transport modelling system, traditionally used for forecasts, to quantify the impacts of various travel demand measures (TDM). Our study shows that the change in travel demand, induced by various travel policies, will not suffice on its own to reach the target. Even if fuel price is tripled, a substantial share of renewable fuels is required for target achievement. While our study shows that travel demand measures have a fairly small effect on CO 2 emissions, it also hints at other compelling reasons for introducing such measures. Constructive strategies for the transport system would not only contribute to reduce risks with climate change. Even small reductions of transport volumes might imply large socio economic savings in traffic related costs, reduced emissions of substances with health impacts, fewer accidents, shorter travel times and higher travel time reliability. These aspects are arguably all part of a sustainable transport development.
The objectives of this study are to (a) demonstrate the importance and motivation for large private companies taking action against climate change and (b) develop a backcasting-oriented framework for comprehensive and manageable corporate travel policies. The backcasting framework consists of four parts: (1) target description at a conceptual level; (2) mapping of the current status of the company regarding staff travel patterns and preferences, individual and collective emissions, and costs against the targets described; (3) a policy-oriented transformation of the backcasting target; and (4) alternative sets of company policies and strategies that would allow targets to be achieved. A detailed cost-benefit analysis is supplemented by statistical and econometric models that test employee acceptance of the different policy alternatives.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.