Making the easy commute -- Telecommute America! Week
In an era of traffic snarls, the easiest commute is from your bedroom to your home office by way of computer rather than car.
So, it is no surprise that telecommuting is rapidly becoming an accepted and effective alternative to the usual centrally-located workplace across the country. According toTelecommute America!, a public-private effort started in 1995 to promote the awareness and understanding of telecommuting and telework arrangements, three million more Americans telecommute from their homes to their place of business than did two years ago. Although the total numbers remain a small percentage of workers, growth in telecommuting is an important trend.
Telecommuting experts expect that high growth rates will continue in the near term. According to Jack Nilles, who coined the term “telecommuting” in the 1970s, America will have 20 million American teleworkers by 2000. The rest of the world will have at least 10 million teleworkers. By the year 2030, he forecasts nearly 65 million American teleworkers. The President’s Management Council’s National Telecommuting Initiative has set a goal to have 60,000 federal workers telecommuting by the end of fiscal year 1998. According to the General Services Administration, this level of telecommuting is expected to generate facility cost savings of $150 million annually.
Based on the combination of business resources, technological infrastructure, and quality of life factors, many believe that Florida is poised to experience much of this growth in telecommuting, resulting in reduced vehicle travel in the peak periods. In the April 1997 issue of PC World, 300 U.S. cities were ranked for favorability to working at home, including availability of telephone services and access to the Internet, courier services, copy centers, and more. Fifteen of Florida’s 20 urban areas were ranked in the top 25 percent of best cities for telecommuting.
Although the impacts and advantages of telecommuting are not widely understood among business leaders, government officials, and transportation professionals, research studies have indicated that telecommuting can result in the following:
In Tampa, CUTR is leading a volunteer effort to help inform transportation professionals, employers, and commuters about the benefits and impacts of telecommuting. Activities scheduled to take place during Telecommute America! Week (October 20-24, 1997) include holding a one-day Telecommuting Expo, developing a Virtual Telecommuting site on the World Wide Web, and conducting a workshop on the transportation and business impacts of telecommuting.
- increased productivity (as much as 10 to 20 percent);
- savings in vehicle miles traveled (35 billion by the year 2002);
- lowered risk of injury and death (an estimated 815 traffic-related deaths and nearly 118,000 accidents per year by 2002).
According to Gail Martin, executive director of the International Telework Association and project director for Telecommute America!, "We’re taking our message to the grassroots level in cities like Tampa and reaching out to local public and private employers to encourage their involvement in telecommuting."
Many other organizations across the U.S. have sponsored Telecommute America! weeks, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. General Services Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and AT&T. Similar grassroots activities are planned for Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
For more information, contact Philip L. Winters, CUTR Senior Research Associate and TDM Program Director, at (813) 974-9811, winters@cutr.usf.edu.
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