Stated benefits of teleworking in Mexico City: a discrete choice experiment on office workers

Abstract

Commuting is expensive in megacities of emerging economies. By decreasing work-related trips, teleworking may reduce congestion and commuting time. Taking Mexico City’s office workers’ as case study, this paper reports findings from a discrete choice experiment (DCE) exploring willingness to see a cut in monthly paycheck in exchange for teleworking two days a week from a shared office. This DCE explores preferences for bike parking spaces at shared office’s facilities, and walking commuting time to shared office. This design allows estimation of willingness to pay (WTP) for teleworking across commuting time scenarios. Monthly WTP for teleworking 2 days a week starts at (2019) USD 76.68—if commuting time is zero. As 1 h of commuting time is valued at USD 61.97 on a monthly basis, WTP for teleworking 30 min away from home is USD 45.69. Wealthier respondents report higher value for commuting time and WTP for teleworking. Monthly value of bike parking infrastructure is USD 14.70—reaching USD 30.98 for commuters that walk or (motor-)bike less than 50 min. We illustrate how these stated benefits can inform cost-benefit analysis of transportation, housing, and labor policies that enable teleworking and/or reduce commuting times in Mexico City.