TRANSPORTATION-RELATED IMPACTS OF COMPRESSED WORKWEEK: THE DENVER EXPERIMENT

This paper summarizes results of an evaluation of the federal employee compressed workweek experiment in the Denver area. In this experiment, more than 7000 federal employees changed from standard work schedules to either a four-day workweek or nine workdays in a two-week period. Emphasis is placed on transportation impacts related to air quality and energy issues, with particular attention given to quantifying the more-indirect impacts of compressed work schedules on overall weekly household travel patterns. The analysis approach developed to evaluate these issues essentially involves the measurement of a number of travel-related impacts prior to implementation of the compressed workweek and again one year later. Also involved is the use of experimental and control groups to isolate those impacts attributable to the compressed workweek from other impacts from factors exogenous to the experiment, such as changes in the price and availability of gasoline. The findings indicate that compressed work schedules lead to a reduction in weekly household vehicular travel. Further, reductions are observed not only for work travel but for nonwork travel as well. Results also suggest that the compressed workweek can be compatible with other regional transportation actions such as ridesharing and transit. Although not demonstrated conclusively in the Denver experiment, the compressed workweek also appears to have the potential for improving traffic flow conditions by reducing peak-hour traffic volumes.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1982/845/845-004.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=TRANSPORTATION-RELATED+IMPACTS+OF+COMPRESSED+WORKWEEK%3a+THE+DENVER+EXPERIMENT&author=T.+Atherton&author=G.+Scheuernstuhl&author=D.+Hawkins&publication_year=1982
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309033233
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Transportation System Management. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Atherton, Terry J
  • Scheuernstuhl, George J
  • Hawkins, Doug
• Publication Date: 1982

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 22-30
• Monograph Title: Transportation system management and parking
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 845
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Hours of labor; Peak periods; Ridership; Risk management; Staggered work hours; Travel patterns; Work trips
• Geographic Terms: Denver (Colorado)
• Old TRIS Terms: Compressed work weeks
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Society; I71: Traffic Theory;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00367846
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309033233
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 30 1982 12:00AM