Journal
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART F-TRAFFIC PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR
Volume 74, Issue -, Pages 458-470Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2020.09.010
Keywords
Teleportation test; Commuting; Positive utility of travel; Ideal travel time; Travel time
Categories
Funding
- National Institute for Transportation and Communities, a program of the Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University [1005]
- Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program, a program of the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation [DTFH6415G00003]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The teleportation test is a unique question-used in some travel behavior research since the 2000s-to examine individuals' perceptions towards travel time and affinities for travel. It gives people a hypothetical choice between teleporting or spending some time traveling. All studies (using different methods, including focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires) have consistently reported high teleportation preferences (about 70%). Yet, few correlates of teleportation preferences (especially sociodemographic and perceptual characteristics) have been investigated. Using data from an online questionnaire of 648 commuters in Portland, Oregon, this study investigated factors affecting individuals' teleportation preferences. While generally representative of the area's commuters, the sample did have higher shares of high-income workers and people using active modes or transit. Overall, 62% of respondents preferred to teleport than to spend some time commuting. Results from binary logit models identified actual commute duration, typical mode of travel, and ideal travel time (but no demographic attributes) as major predictors of preferences to teleport. As expected, people with longer commute durations had a greater desire to teleport, whereas bicyclists and pedestrians more often preferred to commute. People with longer ideal travel times had a greater affinity to commute and were less keen to teleport. Analysis of follow-up questions exploring reasons for respondents' answers suggested that most teleporters were motivated by saving time to do other things, while most commuters found parts of their commutes to be enjoyable or productive. Findings from this study are consistent with related studies in implying that a teleportation preference does not necessarily represent zero ideal travel time or viewing travel time as wasted. Finally, this study discusses several travel behavior policy implications of the teleportation test, along with limitations and areas for future research. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available