EVALUATION OF TELECOMMUTING PILOT PROJECTS IN THE GREATER HOUSTON METROPOLITAN AREA
Many companies have implemented successful telecommuting programs designed to reduce congestion and comply with federal mandates, such as the Clean Air Act Amendments, and have found that telecommuting may also be beneficial in reducing energy usage and its associated costs. This study has been designed to evaluate three telecommuting pilot programs by companies located in the Houston area, and more specifically, determine if energy costs increase for the telecommuter and if that potential increase outweighs the other benefits. It was found that the telecommuter's home energy usage barely increased by one percent. The telecommuting programs that were the focus of this study were still in the pilot phase, although the company representatives indicated that the successes thus far have encouraged company officials to continue the program beyond the pilot phase indefinitely. Information contained in this study will be useful to any company who may be considering telecommuting, as either a business or congestion mitigating strategy, who need additional policy guidelines in establishing their individual programs. While telecommuting will not solve all the congestion problems alone, used in conjunction with other measures, such as carpools and subsidized transit, positive results will be seen in high pollution areas.
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Supplemental Notes:
- Supported by a grant from the Office of the Governor of the State of Texas, Energy Office.
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Corporate Authors:
Center for Transportation Training and Research
Texas Southern University, 3100 Cleburne Avenue
Houston, TX United States 77004Southwest Region University Transportation Center
Texas A&M University
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX United States 77843-3135 -
Authors:
- Goodwin, R E
- Hardiman, M
- Publication Date: 1997-11
Language
- English
Media Info
- Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 69 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Air pollution; Carpools; Costs; Energy consumption; Policy; Subsidies; Telecommuting; Traffic congestion; Traffic mitigation
- Uncontrolled Terms: Mitigation; Reduction (Decrease)
- Geographic Terms: Houston (Texas)
- Subject Areas: Energy; Finance; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Policy; I73: Traffic Control;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00745248
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: SWUTC/98/466040-1
- Files: NTL, TRIS
- Created Date: Feb 2 1998 12:00AM