Understanding individual-level travel behavior changes due to COVID-19: Trip frequency, trip regularity, and trip distance

Abstract

Understanding different mechanisms in trip changes depending on transportation modes due to COVID-19 pandemic is the key to providing practical insights for healthy communities. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individual-level travel behavior in Daejeon Metropolitan City, South Korea. Using smart card and private vehicle records, we explored different travel behaviors exhibited while using buses and private vehicles. An individual's travel behavior was represented in trip frequency, trip regularity, and trip distance and was compared weekly for about three months, including the initial period of pandemic. A significant decrease in trip frequency during non-peak hours on weekdays and during weekends indicates that people reduced non-mandatory trips more than commuter trips. This was also verified in that, as the number of infection cases increased, trip regularity with 24-hour intervals intensified. People maintained the size of their activity boundaries but reduced their daily trip distances. The interesting point is that private vehicle usage increased for shorter trip distances while bus usage dropped regardless of the ranges of trip distances under the pandemic. The findings provide evidence of possible inequality issues in transportation during the pandemic and can help make precautionary policies for future pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pandemic; Travel behavior; Trip distance; Trip frequency; Trip regularity.

Fig. 1

COVID-19 status in Daejeon and South Korea and temporal study scope.^{1 1}A single week was defined as a set of days from Monday to Sunday to consider the social perception of the week in South Korea.

Fig. 2

Bus stops and road side equipment deployment in Daejeon Metropolitan City, South Korea.

Fig. 3

Definition of residents.

Fig. 4

Changes in trip demand of bus and private vehicles in relation to confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Fig. 5

Changes in hourly trip demand of bus and private vehicle.

Fig. 6

Share of residents by individual daily trip frequency (f_{i, d}^w) of (a) Bus users and (b) Private vehicle users.

Fig. 7

Proportion of residents by change in the average daily trip frequency.

Fig. 8

Distribution of inter-visit intervals (I_{i, l, k}) by transportation modes.

Fig. 9

Probability of occurrence of 24-hour revisit trips over times of the day (morning peak, daytime, evening peak, and nighttime).

Fig. 10

Distribution of active users by average daily trip distance (${\overline{D}}_{i,d}^w$).

Fig. 11

Proportion of residents by the change in daily trip distances.

Fig. 12

Distribution of active users by radius of gyration (${\overline{r}}_{i,d}^w$).

Fig. 13

Proportion of residents by change in the radius of gyration.