Multimodal travel-based multitasking during the commute: Who does what?

Abstract

Research on multitasking during travel has increased, yet most studies have focused on public transit passengers. This work investigated travel-based multitasking and its potential determinants across multiple travel modes (automobile, nonmotorized, and transit) using a 2016 survey of around 650 commuters in the Portland, Oregon, region. First, exploratory factor analysis on 23 activities yielded two activity groups: those related to information and communications technologies (texting/emailing/messaging, reading electronically, and using social websites/apps) and those that are more passive in nature (viewing scenery or people watching and thinking/daydreaming). Next, mode-specific binary logit models predicted participation in each activity (or activity group) as a function of travel time, traveler socio-demographics, perceptions, and other factors. Travelers using riding modes (transit riders and auto passengers) engaged in a greater number and variety of activities, while vehicle (auto and bicycle) operators did fewer and more passive activities. For walking/bicycling commuters, exercising or being physically active appeared to be an enjoyable and productive use of travel time. On the other hand, many instances of travel-based multitasking for transit passengers may be more about coping with a burdensome or boring commute or the result of being time poor. These findings offer important implications for understanding motivations for travel-based multitasking, sustainable transportation mode choices, and future demands for autonomous vehicles.

Keywords:

• Activities
• commuting
• multimodal
• travel-based multitasking

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Kelly Clifton, Jennifer Dill, Cynthia Mohr, Liming Wang, and others at Portland State University for their valuable feedback on an earlier version of this paper. The comments and suggestions from four anonymous reviewers significantly improved the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported in part by a Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (Project # 1005) from the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, a program of the Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University; and by a graduate fellowship (Grant # DTFH6415G00003) from the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program, a program of the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.