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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Beyond telecommuting

Conference ·
OSTI ID:281701
 [1];  [2]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States)
  2. Global Telematics, Seattle, WA (United States)
Although there has been considerable discussion about how telecommunications will affect the demand for transportation, most studies have focused on substituting telecommunications for transportation. For example, telephone and video conferencing can replace travel for meetings; electronic mail can replace postal service. More importantly, people can telecommute part-time or full- time using telecommunications instead of traveling to work. There are many other examples of reducing or eliminating travel by telecommunicating, but what may not be obvious is how telecommunications stimulates travel. As the volume of telecommunications traffic increases, travel has been stimulated in a number of important ways. Increased telecommunications has fostered economic growth that has, in turn, increased travel. With increased use of telecommunications, people move farther apart so economic and social trips become, on the average, longer. to ensure that society continues to benefit from this stimulation, the government will have to devote considerable attention to developing the telecommunications infrastructure and to supporting appropriate telecommunications policy. In particular, governments must learn to allocate resources and attention reasonably to ensure that systems support economic and social growth.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
281701
Report Number(s):
LBNL--38873; CONF-960629--3; ON: DE96013802
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English