•Travel behavior before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was explored.•Significant change in primary purpose of traveling was observed due to the pandemic.•People tend to use less public transport ...and more private cars during pandemic.•Modal shift to active modes from public transport and paratransit was significant.•People placed more priority on pandemic related factors when choosing a mode.
Various measures were recommended or imposed by the governments to control the spread of COVID-19. Travel behaviors are significantly influenced due to such measures. However, people have various travel needs ranging from grocery shopping to work. This study examines the changes that occurred in travel behavior due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through an online questionnaire survey that included questions on trip purpose, mode choice, distance traveled, and frequency of trips before and during COVID-19. 1203 responses were collected from various countries around the world.
Results explained that trip purpose, mode choice, distance traveled, and frequency of trips for the primary travel were significantly different before and during the pandemic. Further, the majority of trips were made for shopping during the pandemic. There was a significant shift from public transport to private transport and non-motorized modes. People placed a higher priority on the pandemic related concerns while choosing a mode during the pandemic as compared to the general concerns. Gender, car ownership, employment status, travel distance, the primary purpose of traveling, and pandemic-related underlying factors during COVID-19 were found to be significant predictors of mode choice during the pandemic.
Outcomes of this study could be useful in transport planning and policymaking during pandemics based on the travel needs of people. In particular, government authorities could utilize such knowledge for planning smart and partial lockdowns. Service providers, e.g., taxi companies and retailers, could use such information to better plan their services and operations.
Car-dependent city planning has resulted in high levels of environmental pollution, sedentary lifestyles and increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change. The Barcelona Superblock model ...is an innovative urban and transport planning strategy that aims to reclaim public space for people, reduce motorized transport, promote sustainable mobility and active lifestyles, provide urban greening and mitigate effects of climate change. We estimated the health impacts of implementing this urban model across Barcelona.
We carried out a quantitative health impact assessment (HIA) study for Barcelona residents ≥20 years (N = 1,301,827) on the projected Superblock area level (N = 503), following the comparative risk assessment methodology. We 1) estimated expected changes in (a) transport-related physical activity (PA), (b) air pollution (NO2), (c) road traffic noise, (d) green space, and (e) reduction of the urban heat island (UHI) effect through heat reductions; 2) scaled available risk estimates; and 3) calculated attributable health impact fractions. Estimated endpoints were preventable premature mortality, changes in life expectancy and economic impacts.
We estimated that 667 premature deaths (95% CI: 235–1,098) could be prevented annually through implementing the 503 Superblocks. The greatest number of preventable deaths could be attributed to reductions in NO2 (291, 95% PI: 0–838), followed by noise (163, 95% CI: 83–246), heat (117, 95% CI: 101–137), and green space development (60, 95% CI: 0–119). Increased PA for an estimated 65,000 persons shifting car/motorcycle trips to public and active transport resulted in 36 preventable deaths (95% CI: 26–50). The Superblocks were estimated to result in an average increase in life expectancy for the Barcelona adult population of almost 200 days (95% CI: 99–297), and result in an annual economic impact of 1.7 billion EUR (95% CI: 0.6–2.8).
The Barcelona Superblocks were estimated to help reduce harmful environmental exposures (i.e. air pollution, noise, and heat) while simultaneously increase PA levels and access to green space, and thereby provide substantial health benefits. For an equitable distribution of health benefits, the Superblocks should be implemented consistently across the entire city. Similar health benefits are expected for other cities that face similar challenges of environmental pollution, climate change vulnerability and low PA levels, by adopting the Barcelona Superblock model.
•The Barcelona Superblock model provides a paradigm shift towards people-centered city planning•The model aims to reclaim public space, reduce motorized transport, promote active mobility provide greening and cooling•Almost 700 premature deaths could be prevented annually with the Barcelona Superblocks•Health pathways were air pollution, noise and heat reductions and increases in green space and transport physical activity•The Superblocks could be scaled-up to other cities to reduce the health burden related to car-centered city planning
In recent years, bikesharing has become one of the most popular policies promoting cycling across the world. As the number of bikesharing systems (BSS) continues to rise, it is increasingly important ...to quantify their expected benefits. This paper synthetises the available evidence on the current impacts of implementing a BSS, with a special focus on the induced modal shift dynamics and impacts in car reduction, indicating how increasing the attractiveness of BSS to car users could improve its benefits. Several benefits have been associated to bikesharing, but they are not equally distributed and are dependent on several nuances, particularly on modal shifts. Among the biggest contributions are the increases in physical activity (PA) levels (triggering health gains) as well as travel time savings to the BSS users. Bikesharing is mostly replacing sustainable modes of transport, with modest car replacing rates. However, bikesharing can also indirectly decrease car travel by fostering synergies with Public Transport (by expanding catchment areas, reducing overcrowding and overall travel times) and by promoting cycling use through increasing the number and diversity of cyclists. Furthermore, different types of modal shift lead to different benefits. Reductions in car travel induce decreases in greenhouse gases (GHG) and other air pollutants, increases in PA, time savings as well as congestion reductions. Conversely, new trips generated by BSS also lead to increases in PA, while modal shift from walking to BSS has been associated with travel time savings. Shifting PT users to BSS can also reduce overcrowding in saturated PT networks. The most social disadvantaged groups were found to be systematically under-represented among BSS users, yet equity measures combined with awareness-raising campaigns could increase usage rates. Exploring potential advantages of BSS against car use and increasing its car replacing rates, coupled with better impact assessments, should constitute research priorities.
The unprecedented shock triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant impact on public transportation services, travel behavior and mode choice preferences. Increasing risk of virus ...contagion in shared travel modes might result in a systemic shift from public transport to car commute. Such a shift causes increased congestions, emissions with a burden on the existing infrastructure. Given the urgent need of reconsideration of transport in a post-COVID world, this study presents insights into the possible shift from public transport to car commute due to the coronavirus crisis, potential factors influencing the mode shift, with emphasis being also laid on suitable strategies for promoting public transport use in the future world. Based on an online questionnaire survey conducted in India, results of logistic regression model indicate that commuters' socio-economic characteristics such as age, gender and monthly income tend to significantly influence mode switch preferences. In addition, trip characteristics including travel time, overcrowding and hygiene are strongly associated with mode shift preferences from public transport to car use. Commuters' perceptions on several strategies for promoting public transport have also been assessed, which will indeed pave the way for the formulation of post-COVID transport policies. In essence, efforts need to be directed towards restoring users’ confidence and trust by providing a safe, secure and healthy environment to the public transport users.
•Modal shift from public transport to car commute is reported.•Variables influencing the modal shift are assessed using logistic regression model.•Commuters' preferences are evaluated for reviving public transport in the post COVID-19 world.•Policy implications are highlighted based on analytic hierarchy process.
In Switzerland, strict measures as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic were imposed on March 16, 2020, before being gradually relaxed from May 11 onwards. We report the impact of these measures on ...mobility behaviour based on a GPS tracking panel of 1439 Swiss residents. The participants were also exposed to online questionnaires. The impact of both the lockdown and the relaxation of the measures up until the middle of August 2020 are presented. Reductions of around 60% in the average daily distance were observed, with decreases of over 90% for public transport. Cycling increased in mode share drastically. Behavioural shifts can even be observed in response to the announcement of the measures and relaxation, a week before they came in to place. Long-term implications for policy are discussed, in particular the increased preference for cycling as a result of the pandemic.
•Understanding of the change in mobility patterns in Switzerland using a large GPS Panel during the Covid19 Pandemic.•Evidence for a large increase in cycling kilometers during the first lockdown which was sustained into the summer.•Changes in mobility behaviour varied across different socio-demographic groups.
We propose a mathematical programming model aimed to design a bicycle network which maximizes modal shift from a given potential demand. Urban planners face the problem of promoting sustainable ...mobility practices, including the use of bicycle for daily trips. One of the main factors which influence modal shift toward the bicycle is the existence of specialized infrastructure, which includes the network, i.e., a set of dedicated and interconnected lanes which can be used in combination with the existing street network for traveling from different origins to different destinations. The bicycle network can be built over different street sections using different infrastructure technologies, e.g., quality of pavement, which impact on the perceived travel cost and have different construction cost. In this context, the better is the network built from the point of view of travel cost, the more people currently using a different transport mode are willing to shift toward the bicycle mode. Our proposed model takes a street network, both travel and construction costs on every segment, an origin-destination matrix of potential bicycle trips and a given construction budget, and determines the segments where bicycle lanes should be built and the technology of infrastructure on each segment, so as to maximize the modal shift from the potential demand to the bicycle mode. The methodology is applied to a real case related to the city of Montevideo, Uruguay, for which we conduct sensitivity analysis and comparison with the current system.
Americans are driving less. The changes are most pronounced among Millennials, those born in the 1980s and 1990s. Much ink has been spilled debating whether these changes in travel behavior are due ...to changing preferences or economic circumstances. In this paper, we use eight waves of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine recent changes in auto ownership among US families with a particular focus on Millennials. We find that today's young adults do own fewer cars than previous generations did when they were young. However, when we control for whether young adults have become economically independent from their parents, i.e. left the nest, we find that economically independent young adults own slightly more cars than we would expect, given their low incomes and wealth. We caution planners to temper their enthusiasm about “peak car,” as this may largely be a manifestation of economic factors that could reverse in coming years.
•We use a panel dataset to examine changes in car ownership over time.•We find that Millennials own fewer cars than previous cohorts.•We differentiate between economically dependent and independent Millennials.•Economic factors account for much of the differences in car ownership.•Independent Millennials own more cars than expected given their economic status.
Automated vehicles (AVs) could completely change mobility in the coming years and decades. As AVs are still under development and gathering empirical data for further analysis is not yet possible, ...existing studies mainly applied models and simulations to assess their impact. This paper provides a comprehensive review of modelling studies investigating the impacts of AVs on travel behaviour and land use. It shows that AVs are mostly found to increase vehicle miles travelled and reduce public transport and slow modes share. This particularly applies to private AVs, which are also leading to a more dispersed urban growth pattern. Shared automated vehicle fleets, conversely, could have positive impacts, including reducing the overall number of vehicles and parking spaces. Moreover, if it is assumed that automation would make the public transport system more efficient, AVs could lead to a favouring of urbanisation processes. However, results are very sensitive to model assumptions which are still very uncertain (e.g. the perception of time in AVs) and more research to gain further insight should have priority in future research as well as the development of the models and their further adaptation to AVs.
Cities continue to expand along with the growth of population, while our mobility systems often fail to meet the demands for social, environmental and economic sustainability. The second industrial ...revolution enabled the extensive use of private vehicles, posing various challenges to the sustainability of such systems. Luckily, several best practices aiming at tackling this issue have been identified in the past, facilitating progress towards sustainability. Nowadays, this progress is strongly supported by the call for cities to develop Sustainable Mobility Plans (SUMPS), which stands as an opportunity for best practices to be implemented in coordination with relevant policies. This research identifies the best practices that promote a modal shift, while it investigates their alignment with the strategy that enhances public transport services, encourages active mobility and disincentivizes private vehicle usage. Therefore, the presentation of these practices, introduces a set of initiatives that under aforementioned strategy promotes a modal shift. Furthermore, through the identification of best practices in various locations, several insights and inferences are drawn, providing useful guidance.
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