THE VIRTUAL WORLD AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Will There Be An Impact on Everything from Driving

Patterns to Climate Change?

Amy ZuckermanFounder, Co-chair Hidden-Tech

Principal, A – Z International Associates

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THE VIRTUAL WORLD: Global Warming Implications

SUMMARY STATEMENT: As professionals leave organizations and work more and more from homes or small offices close to their residences, they will cease commuting. Although we still need to map the driving habits of the “virtual work place,” we can guess that the rise of this way of work may reduce green house gas emissions caused by auto emissions.

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EMERGING BUSINESS TRENDS

• OFF-SHORING/CORPORATE LAY-OFFS

• ENERGY CRISIS

• BABY BOOMERS “RETIREMENT:”– Continue Working as Entrepreneurs– Relocate to Quality of Life Regions

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THE LOOMING ENERGY CRISIS

“It makes no sense for people to commute an hour on a freeway to get from one computer to another.

By working closer to home, or at home, they get the benefit of energy savings, family time and community involvement.”

-Joel Kotkin, author of The New Geography

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YAHOO POLL DATA

• 76 million baby boomers face retirement over 20 years

• 70 percent –plus of boomers 45 and older say they may start their own business

• Many will work from home or nearby

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VIRTUAL WORK IS THE FUTURE

In 10 years how many of you will be running a virtual company?

How will your driving habits change?

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Connecting the Dots to Traffic Management

In a 2002 survey backed by WMECO:

• 70 percent of HT/virtual company owners say they do not commute

• 30 percent say they drive to small offices within a short drive to their homes

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Virtual Workplaces in Amherst

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Yes – Virtual Company Owners Drive, But How?

During the day HT/Virtual company owners go to:

• Stores• Restaurants• Coffee shops• Service professionals• Doctors, etc. . .

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And They Work at Night . . .

HT/Virtual Company Owners May . . .

• Visit their office at night or a subcontractor/client

• Meet at local restaurants for business meetings

• Go to retail shops to pick up supplies

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When Do They Drive the Most?

AZ’s hypothesis (based on anecdotal information and WMECO study data):

• HT/virtual company owners are out and about MOST from noon to 3 p.m. or so

• They are largely on city/town or arterial roads like Rt. 9 or 116

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Client Locales Affect Driving

• Hidden-Techies general work nationally and globally

• They do a lot of SPORADIC driving to regional clients within 100 miles, or to rail/air access

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“Bizarre Driving Patterns”

Expert Alan Pisarski notes:

• A shift from the “classic diurnal flow” of commuters

• Traffic spread over longer periods – 5 a.m. to noon

• Reverse commutes and “daisy chains” emerging where virtual companies exist

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Study Questions for Traffic Managers/Planners

1) Is this trend reducing commuting? If so, can it reduce emissions?

2) Is this trend causing more traffic clog ups on arterial roads or commercial sectors of cities/towns?

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Study Questions continued . . .

3) Are there specific times of day or night when HT/virtual company owners drive the most?

4) How much do HT/virtual company owners use mass transit?

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CONCLUSION: The Challenges

• Define the impact of the evolving HT/virtual work place on traffic patterns

• Determine if this new virtual world will help retard global warming

• Devise solutions to manage the changes this trend is bringing about NOW and will likely increase in the future