We collaborate with industry partners to track the implications of working from home for metropolitan strategic transport models.
The Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies has partnered with industry on two projects to track the travel activity and positions of the Australian population on working from home through a longitudinal data plan, commencing in March 2020.
Responses from employers and employees to working from home throughout COVID-19 will raise important questions as to what revisions will be required to strategic models used by state governments in respect of modal choice and frequency of weekly travel.
The research program develops revised post-COVID-19 travel choice models conditioned on working from home preferences.
The projects have been undertaken in collaboration with:
Beck, M. and Hensher, D.A. (2020) Insights into the Impact of Covid-19 on Household Travel, Work, Activities and Shopping in Australia 鈥 the early days under restrictions,鈥Paper #1,鈥Transport Policy, 96, 76-93.听
鈥(one of top most downloaded papers in the journal).
Hensher, D.A., Beck, M. J. and Wei, E. (2021) Working from home and its implications for strategic transport modelling based on the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic,鈥Paper #2,鈥Transportation Research Part A, 148, 64-78.
Beck, M. J., Hensher, D.A. and Wei, E. (2020) Slowly coming out of COVID-19 restrictions in Australia: implications for working from home and commuting trips by car and public transport,鈥Paper #3,鈥Journal of Transport Geography, 88, 102466.
Beck, M. and Hensher, D.A. (2020) Insights into the impact of COVID-19 on household travel and activities in鈥疉ustralia 鈥 the early days of easing restrictions,鈥Paper #4,鈥Transport Policy,鈥99, 95-119. Online 19 August 2020鈥.
Hensher, D.A., Wei, E., Beck, M.J. and Balbontin, C. (2021) The impact of COVID-19 on the time and monetary cost outlays for commuting - the case of the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area after three months of restrictions,鈥Paper #5,鈥Transport Policy, 101, 71-80.
Vallejo-Borda, J.A., Lira, B.M., Basnak, P., Reyes-Sald铆as, J.P., Giesen, R., de Dios Ort煤zar, J., Hensher, D.A.,鈥痑nd Beck, M.J. Characterising public transport shifting to active and private modes in South American鈥痗apitals during the Covid-19 pandemic,鈥Paper #6. Submitted to a Special Issue on COVID-19 (edited by Hani Mahmassani and Patricia Mokhtarian),鈥Transportation Research Part A,鈥疛anuary 2020.
Beck, M.J. and Hensher, D.A. (2020) What does the changing incidence of Working from Home (WFH) tell us鈥痑bout Future Transport and Land Use Agendas?鈥疶ransport Reviews,鈥41(3). (Shortened version for鈥疶he Conversation, November 2020 to accompany Academy of Social Sciences Australia (ASSA) podcast).听
听
础濒蝉辞鈥
Beck, M. J. and Hensher, D.A. (2021) Australia 6 months After COVID-19 Restrictions Part 1: Changes to Travel鈥疉ctivity and Attitude to Measures鈥疨aper #7a.鈥疶ransport Policy,鈥痮nline 17 June 2021.
Beck, M. J. and Hensher, D.A. (2021) Australia 6 months After COVID-19 Restrictions Part 2: The Impact of鈥疻orking from Home鈥疨aper #7b.鈥疶ransport Policy, online 17 June 2021.
Hensher, D.A, Balbontin, C., Beck, M.J. and Wei, E.(2022) The Impact of working from home on modal commuting choice response during COVID-19: Implications for two metropolitan areas in Australia,鈥疨aper #8鈥疐or a Special Issue on COVID-19 (edited by Hani Mahmassani and Patricia Mokhtarian),鈥疶ransportation Research Part A, 155, 179-201.
Beck, M.J., Hensher, D.A., and Nelson, J.D. (2021) Public transport trends in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: an investigation of level of concern as a driver for use,鈥疨aper #9,鈥疛ournal of Transport Geography, online 96, 103167.
Hensher, D.A., Beck, M.J. and Balbontin, C. (2021) What does the quantum of working from home do to the value of commuting time used in transport appraisal?鈥疨aper #10,鈥疶ransportation Research Part A, 153, 35-51.
Beck, M. J. and Hensher, D.A. Insights into Work from Home in Australia in 2020: Positives, Negatives and the鈥疨otential for Future Benefits to Transport and Society,鈥疨aper #11鈥痵ubmitted to a Special Issue on COVID-19 (edited by Hani Mahmassani and Patricia Mokhtarian),鈥疶ransportation Research Part A, 12 January 2021, referees reports 25 May 2021, revised 1 June 2021.听
Download Paper #11鈥(pdf, 425KB).
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A., Beck, M.J., Giesen, R., Basnak, P., Vallejo-Borda, J.A., Venter, C. Impact of鈥疌OVID-19 on the number of days working from home and commuting travel: A cross-cultural comparison between Australia, South America and South Africa,鈥疨aper #12,鈥疛ournal of Transport Geography, 96, 103188.
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M. J. Balbontin, C. Advanced modelling of commuter choice model and鈥痺ork from home during COVID-19 restrictions in Australia鈥疨aper #13,鈥痚arly version presented at the 2021 International Choice Modelling Conference online and Chilean Transport Research Conference, 23 May 2021, submitted to鈥疶ransportation Research Part E, 1 December 2021.听
Download Paper #13鈥(pdf, 498KB)
Hensher, D.A., Beck, M.J., Nelson, J.D. and Balbontin, C. (2022) Reducing congestion and crowding with WFH, in Mulley, C. and Attard, M. (editors)鈥疶ransport and Pandemic Experiences, Emerald Press,鈥疨aper #14.
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M. J. (2023) Relationship between commuting and non-commuting travel activity under the growing incidence of working from home and people鈥檚 attitudes towards COVID-19,鈥疨aper #15,鈥疶ransportation.鈥
Hensher, D.A., Beck, M.J., and Balbontin, C. How has COVID-19 impacted on the propensity to work from home? An assessment over four time periods between March 2020 and June 2021,鈥疨aper #17,鈥疛ournal of Transport Geography, 20 April 2022.
Hensher, D.A., Beck, M. and Balbontin, C. Time allocation of reduced commuting time during COVID-19 under working from home,鈥疨aper #18, submitted to鈥疛ournal of Transport Economics and Policy, 29 September 2021.听
Download Paper #18鈥(pdf, 846KB).
Hensher, D.A., Wei, E, and Liu, W. (2023)Accounting for the spatial incidence of working from home in MetroScan - an integrated transport and land model system,鈥疨aper #19, Transportation Research Part A鈥), 173, 103793.
Beck, M.J., Nelson, J., and Hensher, D.A, Restoring Confidence in Public Transport post Delta COVID-19 Lockdowns: Identifying User Segments and Policies to Restore Confidence,鈥疨aper #20, completed 22 November 2021.听
Download Paper #20鈥(pdf, 959KB).
Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M. J. (2023) Exploring how worthwhile the things that you do in life are during COVID-19 and links to well-being and working from home,鈥疨aper #21,鈥疶ransportation Research Part A,鈥168, 103579/鈥
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M. J. (2023) How are life satisfaction, concern towards the use of public transport and other underlying attitudes affecting mode choice for commuting trips? A case study in Sydney from 2020 to 2022, paper prepared for presentation only at IATBR, December 2022 Chile and World Conference on Transport Research - WCTR 2023 Montreal 17-21 July 2023. Transportation Research Part A, accepted 2 September 2023.鈥疨aper #22.
Nelson, J., Beck, M.J. and Hensher, D.A.(2023) COVID-19 and public transport response and challenges, for COVID-19:鈥疘mplications for Policy and Planning, edited by Veronique Van Acker, Patricia L. Mokhtarian, and Sangho Choo; Elsevier book series 鈥淎dvances in Transport Policy and Planning鈥濃疨aper #23, ().
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M. J. The influence of working from home on the number of commuting and non-commuting trips during 2020 and 2021 pre- and post-lockdown in Australia, paper prepared for鈥17th International Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger Transport鈥(Thredbo 17), Sydney, Australia, September 2022.鈥疨aper #24.鈥疭ubmitted to鈥疶ransportation Research Part A, 4 October 2022.
Hensher, D.A., Beck, M. J., Balbontin, C. Working from home and what it means for the future provision of transport services and infrastructure, paper prepared for鈥17th International Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger Transport鈥(Thredbo 17), Sydney, Australia, September 2022鈥疪esearch in Transportation Economics, online 9 March 2023, 98, 101271 .Paper #25.
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A, and Beck, M.J. (2025) How have commuting choices and work from home changed since 2020 in metropolitan versus rural settings? A case study in Australia. WFH Paper #26, preliminary results presented at International Choice Modelling Conference (ICMC), Chile, April 1-4, 2024, Transport Policy, accepted 27 October 2025.
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M. J., Agust铆n Vallejo, J., Giesen, R., and Basnak, P. Commuting and non-commuting travel activity: a cross-cultural comparison between Australia and Latin America, WFH Paper #28, presented at Thredbo 18, Cape Town, September 2024, submitted to Research in Transportation Economics (RETREC), November 2025.
Beck, M. J., Hensher, D.A. and Balbontin, C. Can (Is) work from home be sustained (sustainable) after intensive lockdowns? an examination of three disparate experiences,鈥疨aper #29. Submitted to鈥疭ustainable Cities and Society, 28 February 2023.
Hensher, D.A., Wei, E. and Beck, M.J. (2022) The Impact of COVID-19 and working from home on the main location office space retained and the future use of satellite offices鈥疶ransport Policy, 130, 184-195.鈥疨aper #30鈥
Hensher, D.A., Beck, M.J. and Nelson, J. (2023) What have we learned about long term structural change brought about by COVID-19 and working from home? Transportation Letters, online 19 July 2023.鈥疨aper #31鈥
Xi.,H., Li, Q. H., Hensher, D.A., Nelson, J. and Ho, C. Quantifying the impact of COVID-19 on鈥 travel behavior of people in different groups, submitted to鈥疶ransportation Research Board Annual Conference, Washington D.C, January 2023,鈥疨aper #32;鈥疶ransport Policy, accepted.
Hensher, D.A., Balbontin, C., Beck, M.J., and Wei, E. (2024) Commuting mode choice and work from home in the later stages of COVID-19: Consolidating a future focussed prediction tool to inform transport and land use planning.鈥疨aper #34,鈥 Presented at鈥疘CMC Conference鈥疌hile (April1-3 2024),鈥疶ransportation Research Part A, 鈥187, 104194鈥
Hensher, D.A. Beck, M.J. and Balbontin, C. (2023) Final Report for Combined WFH projects 1-031 and 1-034, 22 December 2022. Available at鈥
Xi, H., Nelson, J., Hensher, D.A., Hu, S., Shao,X. and Xie,C.(2024) Evaluating travel behaviour resilience during COVID[1]19 pandemic across metropolitan and rural areas: contributions of vaccination and epidemiological indicators, full draft 6 August 2023,鈥疻FH Paper #35, Transportation Research Part A, 102890.
Paul Basnak, Camila Balbont铆n, Jose Agustin Vallejo-Borda, Fernando Feres, Jos茅 Reyes, Matthew J. Beck, David A. Hensher, Ricardo Giesen (2025) Determinants of mode changes in times of COVID-19: A study of 11 main Latin American cities, WFH Paper #36, Transportation Research Part A, 104478.
Hensher, D.A., Beck, M., Balbontin, C., and Nelson, J. (2025) Commuting mode choice and work from home in the later stages of COVID-19: Implications for sustainability in Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Urban Transport, edited by Lucy Budd and Maria Attard, for 2025 publication, finalised 13 April 2024.听 WFH Paper #37.
Wei, E. and Hensher D.A. A comparative analysis of the drivers and outcomes of work, location and commuting choices of the main office only, hybrid and home /other location only workers, WFH Paper #38, submitted to Transport Policy. WFH Paper #38, 14 November 2024.
Hensher, D.A., Pellegrini, A. and Wei, E. The influence of flexi-time and flexi-place work on online ordering expenditure, submitted to Transport Policy, 16 December 2024.
Hensher, D.A., Wei, E,. and Pellegrini, A. (2025) Accounting for the location and allocation of working hours throughout the working week: a discrete-continuous choice model, Transportation Research Part A, 104484.
Hensher, D.A., Wei, W. and Beck, M.J. (2026) Working from Home and Hybrid Work in the new era of Flexi-place and Flexi-time in Editors: Michiel C.J. Bliemer and Corinne Mulley, Handbook on Transport and Urban Planning in the Developed World, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, UK.
Jose Agustin Vallejo-Borda, Ricardo Giesen, Beatriz Mella Lira, Paul Basnak, Jos茅 P. Reyes, Francisco Pasqual,鈥疓uillermo Petzhold, Matthew J. Beck, Juan de Dios Ort煤zar, David A. Hensher.鈥疨aper #16, Characterizing public transport shifting to active and private modes in Brazil during the Covid-19 pandemic, 4 May 2021.
Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M. J. How worthwhile do you think the things that you do in life are during COVID-19 and working from home?鈥疨aper #21, Full draft 30 November 2021.
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A., Beck, M.J. and Venter, C. Contrasts in South Africa between 2 waves,鈥疨aper #27. This paper has been cancelled.
Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M.J. Comparative assessment of metropolitan and regional incidence of working from home,鈥疨aper #33, being prepared for ICMC, Chile, May 2024.听
Agust铆n, Jos茅, Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A. and Beck, M. J., Understanding the influence of dominance, arousal and pleasure in the number of days people want to WFH in the future,鈥疻FH Paper #39.鈥
鈥- ASSA: Academy of Social Sciences Australia (ASSA)
鈥- Seriously Social鈥
鈥- Sydney Business Insights
Early Days of the Pandemic (April 2020) and Views on Working from Home鈥- The Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS)听
Australian Institute of Transport Planning and Management (AITPM) Presentations:听
ACSPRI 2020 Conference on Social Science Methodology: the Australian Consortium for Social and Political鈥疪esearch, Inc. 3 December 2020
.听
TDM talk for the AITPM group. This is the third talk in our four part TDM series.鈥
Third online free Bridging Transport Researcher (BTR) conference (5th & 6th August).听
Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management Ltd. Meeting agenda of 2021 transport modelling knowledge sharing workshop, 17 August 2021.鈥
AITPM National Conference Plenary session (David Hensher) speakers at the AITPM National Conference 1 on 鈥淚mpact of COVID on mobility, place-making, shared mobility models or other interesting and innovative solutions to the 鈥檔ew normal鈥欌.听
6 September 2021.
What might the changing incidence of Working from Home (WFH) tell us about Future Transport and Land Use Agendas鈥- Thinking Outside the Box series
Hensher, D.A. Beck, M.J. and Balbontin, C. (2023) 1-031 and 1-034, 22 December 2022.听
