The Changing Allocation of Activities in Space and Time by the Use of ICT—“Fragmentation” as a New Concept and Empirical Results
Theoretical and empirical research about the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on transport relies on the hypothesis that ICT use leads to a reorganization of activities in time and space thus having as a consequence impacts on travel behavior. The breaking up of activities into discrete pieces by the use of ICT is the starting point of the fragmentation concept that underlies the present article. The concept argues that transport demand increases by the fragmentation of activities and explores the relevant mechanisms for this process. In all, however, the concept is still rather vague. Therefore, the authors discuss some elements of the concept on a theoretical level, in particular the question why individuals "fragment" their activities. In the empirical section they use a data set about activities, ICT use and travel behavior in Germany to find out how far an activity like work, which is particularly apt for fragmentation, shows signs of temporal and spatial disintegration. With the help of a cluster analysis they identify groups with different "fragmentation behavior" and investigate if a statistically significant relation exists between fragmentation behavior and ICT use. Accordingly, the focus of the article lies on the impact of ICT use on the performance of activities by different behavioral groups. The link to travel behavior is made by examining mode choices for different purposes and travel related attitudes.
Changes in Transport Behavior by Fragmentation of Activities
An empirical study was made with the aim of revealing the relationship and interaction between use of information and communications technology (ICT) and travel behavior. To this end, a concept is developed built around the basic idea that technological developments, both in the travel and especially in the communications sector, increase flexibility and thus enable a fundamental reorganization of activities. A major feature of the interplay between ICT and travel is the spatial-temporal fragmentation of activities, which can cause both quantitative and qualitative changes in traffic volume. Questions about changes in such routine behavior can only be answered by a long-term study. For this reason, the study presented here is set up as a representative panel investigation, allowing further studies in the future. With the results of the first set of data, the relationship is described between communication and mobility patterns and individual characteristics of people with varying affinities to ICT and what activity-specific ICT use is typical for groups of varying affinity. The initial evaluation of an extensive set of data allows a clear description of the relationship among ICT use, communications behavior, and mobility behavior, while providing evidence that such questions are legitimate.
Aktivitäten-orientierte Personenverkehrsmodelle
Der Tagesablauf der Menschen ist gepraegt durch die Teilnahme an bestimmten Aktivitaeten (Wohnen, Arbeit, Ausbildung, Einkauf, Erholung, etc.) zu bestimmten Zeiten an bestimmten Orten. Die Raumueberwindung vom Ort der einen Aktivitaet zum Ort der naechsten Aktivitaet erzeugt Verkehr. Die zwischen den einzelnen Aktivitaeten liegenden Wege sind in der Regel nicht unabhaengig voneinander, sondern Teil einer Aktivitaeten- beziehungsweise Wegekette. Diese Aktivitaeten- und Wegeketten sind das Ergebnis individueller Zeit- und Wegeplanungen. Die heute in der Verkehrspolitik vermehrt im Vordergrund stehenden Mobilitaetsmanagement-Massnahmen (Verkehrsinformation und -Ienkung, Road Pricing, Aenderungen von Arbeits- und Oeffnungszeiten und so weiter) versuchen, Einfluss auf diese Zeit- und Wegeplanungen zu nehmen.