Changes to the Transport Behaviour of Inhabitants of a Large City Due the Pandemic

Marta Borowska-Stefańska (), Maxim A. Dulebenets, Piotr Koneczny, Michał Kowalski, Edyta Masierek, Filip Turoboś and Szymon Wiśniewski
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Marta Borowska-Stefańska: Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz, 90-142 Łódź, Poland
Maxim A. Dulebenets: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Florida A&M University-Florida State University (FAMU-FSU), Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA
Piotr Koneczny: Institute of Mathematics, Lodz University of Technology, 93-590 Łódź, Poland
Michał Kowalski: Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz, 90-142 Łódź, Poland
Edyta Masierek: Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz, 90-142 Łódź, Poland
Filip Turoboś: Institute of Mathematics, Lodz University of Technology, 93-590 Łódź, Poland
Szymon Wiśniewski: Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz, 90-142 Łódź, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-23

Abstract: On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic and, in consequence, many countries took steps to prevent the importation and subsequent local transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, resulting in restrictions on economic activity, transport, travel, and daily mobility. Although the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on daily mobility have been widely addressed in the literature, there is a limited number of studies that indicate to what extent these changes have become permanent. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature and scale of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local transport system of a large city in Poland (Łódź) and, above all, to identify the permanence of this impact. To accomplish these objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted using the computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) technique on a sample of 500 residents, which included questions on daily mobility in the period before (autumn 2019) and after (autumn 2022) the pandemic. In addition, the results of the questionnaire survey were juxtaposed with data from intelligent transport systems (ITS) (data from 20 induction loops, and data on the number of tickets validated in public transport vehicles). Not only did the pandemic change the frequency of spatial motivations, but it also affected trip durations and preferred modes of transport. The most unfavourable changes concern the modal division and the increase in the use of private transport at the expense of public transport. Understanding the durability of the impact of the pandemic on changes in the spatial mobility of the population may help to develop transport policies and increase the resilience of transport systems to possible future pandemics.

Keywords: transport behaviour; urban transport system; pandemic; computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI); intelligent transport systems (ITS); Łódź (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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