Teleworking and Online Shopping: Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Their Impact on Transport Demand

Research and innovation paving the way for climate neutrality in urban transport: Analysis of 362 cities on their journey to zero emissions

The EU Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities is an ambitious initiative aiming to involve a wide range of stakeholders and deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. We analysed the information submitted in the expressions of interest by 362 candidate cities. The majority of the cities' strategies for climate neutrality include urban transport as a main sector and combine the introduction of new technologies with the promotion of public transport and active mobility. We combined the information from the EU Mission candidate cities with data from the CORDIS and TRIMIS databases, and applied a clustering algorithm to measure proximity to foci of H2020 funding. Our results suggest that preparedness for the EU Mission is correlated with research and innovation activities on transport and mobility. Horizon 2020 activities specific to transport and mobility significantly increased the likelihood of a city to be a candidate. Among the various transport technology research pathways, smart mobility appears to have a major role in the development of solutions for climate neutrality.

Evolution of teleworking and urban mobility changes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic across European Cities

Work-related travel is one of the primary travel purposes for citizens (Eurostat, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic triggered significant changes in lifestyles and mobility that may persist in the long term. Teleworking and online shopping are much more widely adopted than before the pandemic crisis, while active mobility modes have gained a considerable share of urban transport activity. Restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have shown that several activities developed within the city can be done by ICT tools, such as working from home or shopping online, among others. Those tools can be used to avoid -potentially- unnecessary trips and consequently reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. This work aims to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the adoption of teleworking and how mobility behaviour has changed during the pandemic. It also explores the factors that may affect mobility changes, their long-term effects and potential repercussion on GHG emissions.

To do so, we use an extensive survey carried out in 20 European cities across 11 Member States, applying statistical inference analysis among different categories of variables focusing on active workers. Results show that teleworking has grown significantly during the pandemic, both in the number of users and in the frequency of use. The change in mobility patterns has been significant and might serve as a lever for change towards a more sustainable mobility, but also for the worse if the right decisions are not made consequently.

Challenges for urban transport policy after the Covid-19 pandemic: Main findings from a survey in 20 European cities

This article explores the changes in transport and mobility patterns that were triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as citizens' potential new expectations arising from this situation regarding public transport policy and urban planning. We conducted an extensive survey in 20 cities across 11 European countries during the second quarter of 2021, with a total of 10000 respondents. The information that we collected covered the change in the frequency of technology-based alternatives to travel -such as teleworking and online shopping-compared to the pre-pandemic period. It also included the change in trip frequency, purpose, mode and destination. Using the survey dataset as input, we applied a classification model that explains the change in mode choice based on the respondent characteristics and preferences. Our findings suggest that the changes in mobility patterns induced by the pandemic are the result of the combination of the degree of mobility restrictions imposed in each city, the adoption of new lifestyle and work patterns, and individual choices that depend on personal risk aversion. We identify three main challenges for urban transport policy: the increasing use of car that can reinforce long-term car dependency, the avoidance of public transport that may lead to financial and operational instability, and the uncertainty as regards the future of innovation in urban transport, especially as regards emerging technologies and business models.

Desire to work from home: Results of an Irish study

Large levels of working from home (WfH) were induced by social distancing and viral control measures undertaken to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic. Representing an unpredicted change in the way large amounts of people undertake their day to day work, it is expected that the legacy of this event, in terms of significant alterations to work and commuting patterns will have wide-ranging and long-lasting results. However, how persistent the current trends will be, remains an open question. Therefore, there is a need for a well-represented study of employees' preferences for the post-pandemic future and focus on white-collar workers and their well-established attitudes considering their flexibility in terms of workplace arrangements. This paper presents the results of a survey undertaken in Ireland in the summer of 2021 gauging the desire of office workers to WfH, the format that most appeals to them, the consideration of home relocation based on the ability to WfH, and the factors that may explain such preferences. Results indicate high levels of desire to WfH, either full time or partially, with increased desire to WfH positively correlated to pre-pandemic commute length, and to a perceived increase in work productivity and quality of non-work life as a result of time spent WfH. Additionally, a number of workers state that they may consider home relocation based upon the ability to WfH. These results should be interpreted as the desire to WfH or total addressable market that exists, rather than the likely levels of WfH that will be observed post-Covid.

Residential preferences, telework perceptions, and the intention to telework: insights from the Lisbon Metropolitan Area during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Confinement measures imposed during the COVID‐19 pandemic forced many people to work from home. As telework reduces commuting costs, there is the possibility of contributing to urban sprawl as it allows people to move to the periphery. A web‐based survey focusing on telework was conducted in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. A structural equation model was built to study the influence of residential location preferences, perceptions about telework, and current residential location with the intention to engage in telework. People willing to telework more frequently have a higher probability of living in suburban locations, preferring this type of environment and having longer commutes. These results support the premise that telework acts as a mechanism to reduce commute burden.

Telework as a Game-Changer for Sustainability? Transitions in Work, Workplace and Socio-Spatial Arrangements

The COVID-19 pandemic makes home-based telework commonplace and promotes a discussion about addressing mobility problems. Many studies focus on the relationship between the urban form at the place of residence and mode of transport or travel distance. Less attention has been paid to the spatial location of the workplace and its implications for mobility. In this article, we investigate these shifting patterns of work (places) from a socio-spatial mobility perspective. Companies in suburban areas are often characterised by limited access to public transport, cause accordingly high commuting volumes of car traffic and have a strong impact on mobility systems throughout whole regions. Anchored in a case study in Burgwedel, in the suburban area of Hannover, Germany, we analyse the impact and the potential of telework concerning workplaces and sustainable mobility. The data analysis is based on qualitative interviews with local employers (n = 10) and a survey of employees in Burgwedel (n = 367) during October–December 2021. We identify three groups of employees according to their abilities to implement telework defined by the nature of their job and their company’s culture. We show that teleworking can be a game-changer for sustainable mobility in cooperation with local companies.

Regional mobility during the Covid-19 pandemic: Analysis of trends and repercussions using mobile phones data across the EU

The analysis of mobile phones data at regional level in the EU reveals varying patterns in mobility trends during the Covid-19 pandemic. These depend on the temporal evolution of the pandemic in each EU Member State, the measures taken at local or national level to limit the growth of the pandemic, as well as the level of urbanization and type of economic activity in each region. During the first phase of the pandemic (March- April 2020) the decrease in mobility was in general uniform among regions in the same Member State, especially in Italy, Spain and France, where national level measures were adopted. A relaxation of the measures and a resulting rebound of mobility was evident during the summer period (July- August 2020). At the same time, a shift from urban to rural areas during the summer vacation period is evident, with especially touristic areas increasing the number of movements in the same Member State. The variance in mobility trends during the second wave of the pandemic (October- November 2020) was higher, a result of the predominantly local and regional level measures applied in each Member State. Those insights suggest a certain correlation between the level of mobility and the evolution of the pandemic at regional level. The association with high levels of Covid-19 prevalence is particularly strong in urban regions with high mobility levels.

Factors Affecting the Growth of E-Shopping over the COVID-19 Era in Hanoi, Vietnam

In response to insufficient understanding of the determinants of change in e-shopping behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries, this paper used the data from 355 respondents, collected in Hanoi during the social distancing period (April 2020), to explore the factors associated with shopping online more frequently (i.e., representing the growth of e-shopping) for five product types (food, medical products, clothing, electronics, and books) in Hanoi, Vietnam. The results showed that nearly 80% of the respondents engaged in e-shopping more frequently than they did before the outbreak of COVID-19. As regards shopping online more frequently in general (i.e., for at least one product type), females were more likely to do so. In-store shopping enjoyment and a decrease in income were a facilitator and a deterrent, respectively. Regarding specific product types, completely working from home had a positive association with more frequent e-purchasing for electronics. Fear of disease encouraged higher frequencies of e-shopping for food and medical products. Notably, the shortage of physical supply was not a determinant of buying any product type online more frequently. As for the implications of our findings, supporting and encouraging low-income shoppers, older persons, and females to engage in e-shopping is necessary to limit the detrimental effects of the pandemic on their lives. The growth of internet purchasing expresses a need to manage the development of urban delivery services, to limit the uncontrolled proliferation of motorcycles. E-shopping requires delivery to complete the online-to-offline process; therefore, protecting the health of delivery drivers to ensure the safety of the whole online shopping process would be necessary.

Willingness to Use E-Commerce During Coronavirus Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

The traditional retail market has been declining in recent years, while e-retailing has grown at an accelerated rate during the COVID-19 pandemic's lockdown era. The main purpose of the research is to look at the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on the shifting trends of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in Saudi Arabia. The authors investigate the impacts of factors derived by COVID-19 had on the e-commerce market. One hundred sixty individuals operating in e-commerce in the private sector in Saudi Arabia completed a self-administered questionnaire, including demographic information and three sections of five scale questions that meet the study's objectives. Most participants were males (66.2%), 56.2 % were aged between 30 and 40 years old, 38.75% had 5-10 years of experience in the private sector, 40.6% worked in companies with more than 500 employees, and 43.0% of them from lives in Riyadh. The weighted average of the 1st section is 3.19 ± 0.75, indicating that the trend of the establishment of whether lack of alternatives has a positive implication on the intent of using e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic is «Neutral». The weighted average of the 2nd section is 3.43 ± 1.17, which indicates the trend of determining whether the perceived ease of use has a positive implication on the adoption intent of consumers using e-commerce during a COVID-19 outbreak is «Agree». The weighted average of the 3rd section is 3.29 ± 0.90, which indicates the trend of exploring the underlying factors that leads to losses for many businesses during the crisis is «Neutral». Furthermore, the highest percentage of participants (56.2%) mentioned that their company was not prepared for another lockdown. The research results could be useful for further analysis of different domains of the e-commerce market that developed during the pandemic. They could be utilized for examining opinions about e-commerce and whether the public wanted to switch from offline to online mode of marketing.