Influence of COVID-19 Mobility-Restricting Policies on Individual Travel Behavior in Malaysia

Charitha Dias, Noorhazlinda Abd Rahman, Muhammad Abdullah and Nur Sabahiah Abdul Sukor
Additional contact information
Charitha Dias: Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Center, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
Noorhazlinda Abd Rahman: School of Civil Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Nibong Tebal 14300, Penang, Malaysia
Muhammad Abdullah: Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Lahore 54770, Pakistan
Nur Sabahiah Abdul Sukor: School of Civil Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Nibong Tebal 14300, Penang, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in new postpandemic travel patterns as a result of the stay-at-home policies and restricted movement orders imposed by the Malaysian government. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in individual travel behavior after the government imposed a series of lockdowns, also known as movement control orders (MCO). From March to April 2021, a questionnaire survey was distributed throughout Malaysia, and 435 complete responses were collected. Results indicated that the respondents predominantly chose private cars for various traveling purposes during the pandemic. When choosing a travel mode during the pandemic, married respondents and essential workers placed a significantly higher priority on pandemic-related - items such as cleanliness, infection concern, social distance, and wearing face masks, compared to single respondents and nonessential workers. Binary logistic regression models were developed to estimate individuals’ propensity to make trips for different purposes, i.e., work/study, social activities, recreational activities, and religious activities. Results indicated that essential workers were nearly three times more likely than the general population to make a work trip during the pandemic. Regarding social and recreational trips, males were more likely to make such types of trips as compared to females. Furthermore, those who perceived a higher risk of infection were less likely to make social and recreational trips. Regarding religious trips, males were significantly more likely to make such trips during the pandemic as compared to females. In addition, Muslims had significantly higher odds of making a trip for religious purposes during the pandemic. The findings of this study could be useful in transportation planning when considering travel restrictions during pandemics based on peoples’ travel purposes and mode choices.

Keywords: COVID-19; movement control order; pandemic; mobility habits; travel behavior; mode choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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