Impact of Flextime on Departure Time Choice for Home-Based Commuting Trips in Austin, Texas

Abstract

An increasing number of corporations and workplaces are providing flexible working hours or flextime for employees, which is expected to reduce congestion by redistributing the temporal pattern of commuters’ departure time. This study examines the impact of flextime on departure time choice using a Bayesian continuous-time hazard duration model. The model accommodates the time-varying effect of covariates and unobserved heterogeneity. Results from the Austin Household Travel Survey collected between 2017 and 2018 show that workers who have a flextime option choose to leave later, with a predominant effect deterring morning peak departures. Other trip and individual-specific variables, such as travelers’ job type, trip duration, number of trips during the travel day, and household income, are found to have significant impacts on departure time choice. The results also show that flextime is more effective in shifting the departure time for retail and service sector employees, for those whose journeys are longer, and for those who perform more daily activities. The findings of this study support the theory that implementing such policies may ease congestion by staggering the travel demand from peak to off-peak hours.