Pawluk De-Toledo, K., O'Hern, S. and Koppel, S. (2024) “I saw a fox in Melbourne CBD”: Urban travel behaviour changes during COVID-19 and beyond. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 100. pp. 115-132. ISSN 1369-8478
Abstract
An unexpected outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic were the dramatic travel behaviour changes experienced in cities worldwide, which, could result in more sustainable transport systems. Consequently, there is a need for longer-term post-pandemic travel behaviour change research. This study aimed to investigate city-level travel behaviour changes during and post-pandemic. To our knowledge, this is the first qualitative study exploring the permanency of COVID-19 travel behaviour changes. This study involved a literature review of 41 studies and in-depth interviews with 19 transport stakeholders in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is a valuable study area, given that it was the most locked-down city globally. Overall, the results of this study suggest that post-pandemic travel behaviour will be different to pre-pandemic, with working from home (WFH) an integral influence on travel behaviour. In addition, several overarching travel behaviour changes were identified: WFH significantly increased during the pandemic and is anticipated to continue post-pandemic. Both public transport and private motor vehicle (PMV) trips decreased during lockdowns; while PMV rebounded quickly, public transport remained low, and a long recovery is expected. Active transport (cycling and walking) increased during the pandemic and appear likely to endure. Finally, while shared travel modes have received less attention, modal variance is expected in the future. This study has made several key contributions. It consolidated our understanding of the wide range of urban travel behaviour changes experienced during and anticipated post-COVID-19. Secondly, it synthesised current knowledge of recent post-COVID-19 travel behaviour change research. Thirdly, this study demonstrated that complementary qualitative studies strengthen transport research by unearthing new insight into the reasons underpinning travel behaviours, which could be vital for developing solutions. Furthermore, this study identified critical future research topics. Given that most countries are learning to live with the virus, it is an opportune time to investigate whether these intended travel behaviours have endured.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | COVID-19; Travel behaviour change; Post-pandemic; Post-COVID-19; Travel behaviour; Sustainable transport |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Transport Studies (Leeds) > ITS: Sustainable Transport Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 01 Dec 2023 15:30 |
Last Modified: | 01 Dec 2023 15:30 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.trf.2023.11.010 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:206073 |