Travel-based multitasking reframed? A latent class cluster analysis to identify travel time use styles

Abstract

Multitasking has become ubiquitous due to expanded possibilities of activity engagement enabled by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and as a strategy to deal with time pressures. In this context, travel time increasingly becomes a space–time locus for activities, including those that save out-of-trip time. This paper proposes that travel time use styles exist, that is, distinct patterns of engaging in travel-based activities. Such styles are uncovered by implementing a latent class cluster analysis of a dataset representing Australia’s Greater Melbourne and Geelong population. We consider activity transfer, multitasking, activity participation, and ICT-related information as indicators of these styles, with traveller characteristics and travel context variables predicting class membership. Four styles emerged: (1) ICT-based effective multitaskers, time-pressured young travellers engaging in multitasking, activity transfer, and multi-activity participation; (2) Time-passers, older travellers of non-passengerised modes who perform leisure activities to pass the time; (3) Heavy work investors, middle-aged, highly-educated, and high-earning workers; and (4) Upkeepers, primarily women and those currently not working. Our results confirm relationships among ICTs, multitasking, and activity transfer, showing how virtual accessibility enables simultaneous and fragmented activities; concomitantly, time pressures necessitate such behaviours. Our findings can serve a dual purpose. From the transport practice standpoint, they can guide vehicle internal space design and minimum ICT provision standards to suit expected travel time use styles. From the behavioural standpoint, they prompt a debate concerning welfare implications of transforming the nature of travel time use from “offline” to “online”, with the associated expectations concerning activity participation requirements and time pressure consequences.