Examining the potential environmental and travel time saved benefits of remote working hubs

Abstract

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020 many workers around the world, that can, have begun to work remotely. Many studies have been completed on the success or otherwise of this new trend in remote working and postulate that this trend will continue beyond the pandemic. One of the other trends that has been spoken about significantly with this renewed interest in remote working is the development of remote working hubs (RWHs). These are locations outside of main cities that are used by workers from different companies to work remotely in a flexible way. The research conducted in this paper examines several of these RWHs that are located on the periphery of Dublin city centre. The motivation for the research was to establish the potential emissions and travel time savings for commuters using RWHs. The study collected survey data from 514 participants that are currently using RWHs and questioned them on their travel and work habits. The analysis showed that users of RWHs were driving on average 60 km less per day and the majority were able to depart for work later. In the sample, 34% would have driven to their normal place of work and whereas 12% drove to their RWH. The results also point to substantial travel time and emissions savings from using RWHs. The findings suggest that on average those that drive alone could save 1.126 tonnes of CO2 from working at a RWH 3 days a week for a year.