As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, in spring 2020 numerous protective measures were taken in Germany and all over the world. This has changed our everyday life and our mobility considerably. It ...is in question whether and how the pandemic and the lockdown have impacted transport mode use, attitudes towards transport modes and the ownership of individual mobility options during the lockdown period. In order to shed light on these essential aspects of transport policy, we carried out a representative travel survey in Germany during the strictest period of lockdown in the beginning of April. We have analysed overall and individual changes in transport mode usage and attitudes towards transport modes, focussing on the bicycle, the car and public transport. Also, the changes in the perception of individual mobility options with a focus on car-free households were investigated. Our results indicate that public transport lost ground during the particularly restricted period of lockdown while individual modes of transport, especially the private car, became more important. Our findings are highly relevant for transport policy when developing measures for expanding the possibilities for sustainable individual transport and developing concepts that strengthen public transport. These aspects are key for achieving a sustainable transport system in the medium- and long-term despite the coronavirus pandemic.
•We conducted a representative travel survey during the particularly restricted period of lockdown in Germany.•Fewer people had the public transport and the bicycle in their choice set; the share of car users remained stable.•Respondents felt less comfortable using public transport during the lockdown while the car showed a “feel-good” factor.•One third of the members of car-free households miss having a car in the corona pandemic.
Introduction
The global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having a great impact on all areas of the everyday life, including travel behaviour. Various measures that focus on restricting social ...contacts have been implemented in order to reduce the spread of the virus. Understanding how daily activities and travel behaviour change during such global crisis and the reasons behind is crucial for developing suitable strategies for similar future events and analysing potential mid- and long-term impacts.
Methods
In order to provide empirical insights into changes in travel behaviour during the first Coronavirus-related lockdown in 2020 for Germany, an online survey with a relative representative sample for the German population was conducted a week after the start of the nationwide contact ban. The data was analysed performing descriptive and inferential statistical analyses.
Results and Discussion
The results suggest in general an increase in car use and decrease in public transport use as well as more negative perception of public transport as a transport alternative during the pandemic. Regarding activity-related travel patterns, the findings show firstly, that the majority of people go less frequent shopping; simultaneously, an increase in online shopping can be seen and characteristics of this group were analysed. Secondly, half of the adult population still left their home for leisure or to run errands; young adults were more active than all other age groups. Thirdly, the majority of the working population still went to work; one out of four people worked in home-office. Lastly, potential implications for travel behaviour and activity patterns as well as policy measures are discussed.
Autonomous driving is being discussed as a promising solution for transportation-related issues and might bring some improvement for users of the system. For instance, especially high mileage ...commuters might compensate for some of their time spent traveling as they will be able to undertake other activities while going to work. At the same time, there are still many uncertainties and little empirical data on the impact of autonomous driving on mode choices. This study addresses the impact of autonomous driving on value of travel time savings (VTTS) and mode choices for commuting trips using stated-choice experiments. Two use cases were addressed – a privately owned, and a shared autonomous vehicle – compared with other modes of transportation. The collected data were analyzed by performing a mixed logit model. The results show that mode-related factors such as time elements, especially in-vehicle time and cost, play a crucial role for mode choices that include autonomous vehicles. The study provides empirical evidence that autonomous driving may lead to a reduction in VTTS for commuting trips. It was found that driving autonomously in a privately owned vehicle might reduce the VTTS by 31% compared with driving manually, and is perceived similarly to in-vehicle time in public transportation. Furthermore, riding in a shared autonomous vehicle is perceived 10% less negatively than driving manually. The study provides important insights into VTTS by autonomous driving for commuting trips and could be a base for future research to build upon.
•Two choice experiments are conducted to estimate changes in VTTS for autonomous driving.•Preferences for current and future available modes of transportation are compared with each other.•41% VTTS ...reduction is found for autonomous driving compared to a conventional car only for commuting.•VTTS for shared autonomous vehicles is higher than VTTS for privately owned autonomous vehicles.•Policy implications are derived from the results.
Due to digitalization trends and rapid technological development, cars are becoming more technologically advanced with an on-going trend towards fully automated vehicles. Understanding possible changes in user preferences and the impact on mobility of autonomous driving is of great importance for policy and transport planning authorities in light of urbanization trends, demographic change, and environmental challenges. Despite the relevance of the topic, there are limited empirical insights on user preferences, once autonomous driving becomes available. To close this gap and analyze the potential changes in the value of travel time savings (VTTS) resulting from the availability of autonomous driving, an online survey using revealed and stated preference methods was conducted. In the survey user preferences toward currently available and future available modes of transportation were assessed using two discrete choice experiments. VTTS calculations are based on an estimated joint mixed logit model. The results of the study show an average VTTS reduction of 41% for autonomous driving compared to driving a conventional car, however, only for commuting trips. For leisure or shopping trips, no significant changes in the VTTS were found. Considering shared autonomous vehicles (SAV), the results indicate that using SAV is perceived as a less attractive option than using a privately owned autonomous vehicle. Translating the results into policy implications, a potential conflict between individual benefits of autonomous driving and societal goals is identified. Finally, policy recommendations are discussed.
Autonomous driving is expected to change individual travel behavior significantly. The main reason postulated is an increase in comfort and feasibility of on-board activities which will potentially ...change the way people perceive time spent in a vehicle and consequently their mode preferences. Understanding how value of time (VoT) might change and what will determine such change can be crucial when assessing the impact of vehicle automation. Recent studies address potential changes that automation might have on VoT based on analyses of time use and perception in current modes of transport or focusing only on the utility of driving autonomously. However, there is a lack of research addressing both—the utility of car driving compared with the utility of riding autonomously—from the user perspective. To address this research question, focus group discussions with car drivers were conducted. The data was analyzed using a thematic qualitative text analysis. The results suggest that the utility of car driving today, including aspects of driving pleasure, various (passive) activities performed in the car, and also driving as an activity itself, will counterbalance to a certain extent the effect of the benefits of autonomous driving, such as improved travel experience and feasibility of activities. Moreover, context-related and individual characteristics shape these effects. This paper summarizes the main study results, including potential short- and long-term travel behavior changes resulting from the availability of autonomous driving. Lastly, implications from the qualitative research for quantitative studies on value of travel time savings for autonomous vehicles are discussed.
•The effect of trust and travel experiences on VTTS for automated vehicles is assessed.•Privately-owned automated vehicles and shared automated vehicles were considered.•VTTS for different potential ...user groups were calculated.•Individual attitudes were found to influence significantly VTTS for automated vehicles.•Policy and practice implications are derived from the results.
Autonomous driving is expected to strongly influence the value of travel time savings (VTTS) which is crucial for the assessment of the impact of automated vehicles (AVs). However, no consensus has been reached yet about the size and direction of the effect of AVs on VTTS. This high uncertainty around the VTTS is most likely due to high heterogeneity in preferences for travel time. Our hypothesis is that a key role in the heterogeneity of the VTTS for AVs is played by psychological factors. We focus in particular on Travel Experiences (besides individual preference for activities conducted during travelling) and Trust in travel time preferences for AVs. For this purpose, an online survey with a stated choice experiment and psychometric scales was conducted. Besides currently available transport modes, also a privately-owned AV (PAV) and a shared AV (SAV) were included in the choice sets. The data was analysed using a hybrid choice model. T-test and confidence intervals of the estimated VTTS are computed to assess if the VTTS are statistically significant and statistically different among user groups. Results confirm that both psychological factors have significant positive effect on VTTS for AVs. Gender, age, level of education and experience with similar systems were found to affect the VTTS directly and indirectly through their impact on the individual attitudes. Significant differences are found among some potential user groups, in particular in terms of trust to technology and anticipated travel experiences. For example, men are found to trust the technology more than women and also to have potentially higher technology affinity. However, our results show that they also perceive higher marginal disutility for travel time in both PAV and SAV. A comparison between a mixed logit model and the hybrid choice model reveals that capturing the indirect effect of the socio-economic characteristics of individuals through the effect of these factors on attitudes allows differentiating between the VTTS for different user groups. Lastly, implications for policy and technology deployment strategies are discussed based on the findings.
The global Corona virus pandemic strongly affected travel behavior. Long-term changes are expected which will run counter to a development of a sustainable mobility. One main issue is the setback for ...public transport and the preference for individual motorized modes. This paper analyses the changes in public transport, the reasons behind and potential counter measures. It is based on a quantitative survey, mobility data of the time before Corona and a focus groups discussion. The results suggest notable reduction in public transport use during the pandemic and critical evaluation of implemented measures against Corona. A reduction in public transport season tickets can be observed with variation in the values depending on subjective evaluation of public transport, type of settlement, and teleworking frequency. The paper discusses strategies for the development of a more resilient public transport system.
Autonomes Fahren (AF) wird potenziell die Präferenzen für die im Auto verbrachte Zeit stark beeinflussen und dementsprechend den Wert der Reisezeit, der ein Schlüsselelement von ...Kosten-Nutzen-Analysen im Verkehr ist. Die Untersuchung dieses Aspekts des AF ist daher entscheidend für die Analyse potenzieller Auswirkungen der Technik auf die zukünftige Verkehrsnachfrage. Trotz der steigenden Anzahl an Studien zu diesem Thema, gibt es noch erhebliche Forschungslücken.;
Der Fokus der Dissertation ist die potenziellen Änderungen des Reisezeitwerts, die durch das AF entstehen, zu messen sowie ihre Determinanten zu analysieren. Es wurden sowohl qualitative Ansätze als auch quantitative Methoden verwendet. Dabei wurden zwei Konzepte von AF betrachtet: privates und geteiltes autnomes Fahrzeug. ;
Die Ergebnisse der Analysen zeigen einen niedrigeren Wert der Reisezeitersparnis beim AF im Vergleich zum manuellen Fahren, allerdings nur auf Pendelwegen. Das private Fahrzeug wird als eine attraktivere Option als ein geteiltes Fahrzeug wahrgenommen, jedoch unterscheiden sich die Nutzerpräferenzen für geteilte Fahrzeug stark zwischen den durchgeführten Studien. Individuelle Charakteristiken, wie Erfahrung mit Fahrassistenzsystemen, beeinflussen stark die Wahrnehmung der Zeit im AF; andere sozio-demographischen Faktoren, wie Alter und Geschlecht haben vor allem einen indirekten Effekt auf den Reisezeitwert indem sie Einstellungen potenzieller Nutzer beeinflussen. Die Verbesserung des Fahrterlebnisses durch das AF und das Vertrauen in die Technik sind wichtige Determinanten der Reisezeitwahrnehmung. Fahrvergnügen und andere wahrgenommene Vorteile vom manuellen Fahren gleichen in einem gewissen Ausmaß den Nutzen vom AF aus. Es wurden Reisezeitwerte für unterschiedliche potenzielle Nutzersegmente berechnet. Abschließend wurden politische Implikationen, Empfehlungen für die Entwicklung von AF sowie Empfehlungen für künftige Studien und potenziellen Forschungsgebiete abgeleitet.
Autonomous driving will potentially strongly affect preferences for time spent in a vehicle and, consequently, the value of travel time savings (VTTS). As VTTS is a key element of cost-benefit analysis for transport, these interrelations are crucial for analysing the potential impact of the technology on future travel demand. Despite the increasing number of studies dedicated to this topic there are still many unanswered questions.;
The focus of the thesis is to measure potential changes in the VTTS resulting from the introduction of autonomous driving and analyse their determinants. Qualitative approaches and quantitative methods were used. Two concepts of AVs were considered: a privately-owned AV (PAV) and a shared AV (SAV). ;
The analysis results suggest lower VTTS for autonomous driving compared to manual driving, but only on commuting trips. A PAV is perceived as a more attractive option than an SAV, but user preferences for SAVs vary between the conducted studies. Individual characteristics, such as experience with advanced driver assistance systems, strongly affect the perception of time in an AV; other socio-demographic factors, such as age and gender, affect mode choices and the VTTS mainly indirectly by influencing the attitudes of potential users. The improvement in travel experiences due to autonomous driving and trust in the technology are important determinants of the perception of travel time. Enjoyment of driving and other perceived benefits of manual driving partially counterbalance the utility of riding autonomously. VTTS for different potential user segments were calculated. In conclusion, several policy implications, development recommendations for AVs as well as recommendations for future studies and potential research avenues are derived from the findings.
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