There are strong indications that remote working is here to stay, at least in part and in certain workplaces.
Lena Winslott Hiselius, professor of transport economics at Lund University and research leader at Sweden’s National Centre for Research and Education on Public Transport, K2, has investigated in various ways how we are affected by increased digitalisation and working from home. Her methods have included employee surveys and interviews with HR managers at companies and public authorities.
“Human resources divisions are perhaps those that have previously taken the least positive view on working from home, but this group has now also been swayed and is planning to increase remote working within its organisations even beyond the pandemic. Many management groups are now having discussions in this direction.”
Leisure travellers’ needs are hard to meet
Nobody really knows what working life will be like after the pandemic subsides, or whether such a thing will ever completely happen. There are reports, but they point in different directions.
However, as digital meetings have become established and many employers now see opportunities to save money both by reducing office space and approving fewer business trips, predicting more remote working than before the pandemic is not a long shot.
“This means that we suddenly have more spare time, and surely nobody believes we will be spending it at home. We can go shopping, meet with friends, go out in nature, or travel to activities a little further away instead. We might choose to attend the fencing club in the neighbouring town rather than the one closest to home.”
This becomes a tricky equation for public transport, according to Lena Winslott Hiselius.
“Many public transport planners are currently pondering this issue. Previously, they have mainly focused on travel to school and work. Leisure travel differs in that it is so spread out over time and travel destinations. It is simply more difficult to provide public transport to leisure travellers.”
More recreational areas closer to cities
The changes could set off chain reactions and affect urban planning, for example. Municipalities might ensure that more parks and recreational areas are located close to built-up areas so that visiting them requires a car less often than it does today, predicts Lena Winslott Hiselius. At the same time, this could enable a reduction in the traffic chaos around existing recreational areas.
“We generally need to gather more knowledge about this everyday leisure travel, about where people go, how often, how they choose their gym or decide to meet for coffee with friends.
After all, we want the increased leisure travel to happen on foot, by bike or with public transport.”
