Analyzing simple work time and commute time tradeoffs for insights into components of the value of travel time savings

Tradeoffs between work, travel, and leisure have been made explicit through the value of travel time savings (VTTS) and its components, including the values of time assigned to work and to travel. A few studies have recently been able to empirically decompose these dimensions of VTTS, but they usually rely on costly multiday activity–travel–expenditure diaries and surveys. In this paper, we use panel mixed logit modeling to analyze a very simple and easy-to-administer set of choices (work time and commute time tradeoffs) that allows us to quantify some (but certainly not all) aspects of these VTTS components: specifically, we find the signs (positive or negative) and relative magnitude of the marginal utilities of work time and commute travel time. In contrast to previous research, our results imply that commuting seems to be more onerous than working (the marginal utility of travel time is more negative than the marginal utility of work time) on average, except not so for walk and bicycle commuters. We also find differences related to age, income, education, travel satisfaction, and commute preferences.