Working from home: Potential implications for public transit and greenhouse gas emissions

Articles and reports: 36-28-0001202100400005

Description: The increase in telework observed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that far more workers are able to work from home than had been observed prior to the pandemic.

The economic costs of the pandemic to this point have been significant and pervasive, both in Canada and other countries. However, the rapid labour market adjustment to telework offers some potential longer-term benefits for a variety of reasons. More broadly, from urban planning and environmental perspectives, more widespread adoption of telework would result in less commuter traffic and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study estimates the extent to which commuter traffic would decrease, which modes of transportation would see the largest decreases and the resulting implications for GHG emissions if the Canadian economy were to operate at its maximum telework capacity, expressed relative to the commuter levels that prevailed before the pandemic.

Issue Number: 2021004
Author(s): Morissette, René; Deng, Zechuan; Messacar, Derek
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/36280001202100400005-eng

Main Product: Economic and Social Reports

FormatRelease dateMore information
HTMLApril 22, 2021
  • Correction: December 5, 2023

    The data points in the abstract and introduction sections referring to a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions based on complete transition to telework have been modified. In the section titled Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the second paragraph referencing overall reduction in the number of kilometres travelled has changed from 35.1 to 38.8 billion and in the seventh paragraph, estimates from Version 3 calculations have been modified as have all data points in Table 8. As a result, the fifth paragraph in the conclusion section has also been modified.
PDFApril 22, 2021
  • Correction: December 5, 2023

    The data points in the abstract and introduction sections referring to a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions based on complete transition to telework have been modified. In the section titled Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the second paragraph referencing overall reduction in the number of kilometres travelled has changed from 35.1 to 38.8 billion and in the seventh paragraph, estimates from Version 3 calculations have been modified as have all data points in Table 8. As a result, the fifth paragraph in the conclusion section has also been modified.

Corrections

  • December 5, 2023 - (HTML)

    The data points in the abstract and introduction sections referring to a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions based on complete transition to telework have been modified. In the section titled Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the second paragraph referencing overall reduction in the number of kilometres travelled has changed from 35.1 to 38.8 billion and in the seventh paragraph, estimates from Version 3 calculations have been modified as have all data points in Table 8. As a result, the fifth paragraph in the conclusion section has also been modified.

  • December 5, 2023 - (PDF)

    The data points in the abstract and introduction sections referring to a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions based on complete transition to telework have been modified. In the section titled Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the second paragraph referencing overall reduction in the number of kilometres travelled has changed from 35.1 to 38.8 billion and in the seventh paragraph, estimates from Version 3 calculations have been modified as have all data points in Table 8. As a result, the fifth paragraph in the conclusion section has also been modified.

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