Preserving Sustainability Gains of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of MIT Campus Commuting
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
2024
Subject Area
place - north america, place - universities, ridership - commuting, planning - surveys, policy - sustainable, technology - emissions
Keywords
data and data science, data analysis, sustainability and resilience, transportation and sustainability, air quality, greenhouse gas mitigation, policy analysis, transportation and economic development
Abstract
COVID-19 profoundly affected how communities live, work, and commute. In particular, reductions in commutes caused reductions in commuter-related emissions. The pandemic also prompted businesses and institutions to consider longer-term adjustments, including work-from-home policies that continue beyond pandemic protocols. If properly evaluated and implemented, these policies may have long-term beneficial impacts in reducing commuter-related emissions. This work presents a case study of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus community, using data from a prepandemic transportation survey with responses from approximately 50% of the community, as well as data on the academic groups and home locations of the broader population. These data were used to estimate car commuter miles by various academic groups and to model and evaluate interventions in relation to reducing car commuter miles. The interventions include staff work-from-home policies, changes that increase use of alternative transit, and improving access to housing. The analysis used differences in how groups commute to inform the potential interventions. For example, there was an estimated 16% reduction in car commuter miles if staff worked from home 1 day/week on average (excluding service staff whose work is on-site), and the same estimated reduction could be achieved were just one staff group that is well-suited to working from home allowed to do so 2 days/week. This analysis is intended to establish groundwork for further studies to assess how potential campus policies and land use might affect sustainable transportation use and parking demand, as well as to provide a case study for other institutions considering similar changes.
Rights
Permission to publish the abstract has been given by SAGE, copyright remains with them.
Recommended Citation
Berke, A., Doorley, R., Alfonso, L., & Larson, K. (2024). Preserving Sustainability Gains of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of MIT Campus Commuting. Transportation Research Record, 2678(12), 72-83.
