Getting groceries during the pandemic: How transit remained important despite the rise of e-delivery.

Background: We model the use of public transit to reach grocery stores and the use of online delivery services to get groceries, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among people who used transit regularly prior to the crisis. Methods: We draw upon a panel survey of pre-pandemic transit riders in Vancouver and Toronto. We conduct multivariable two-step tobit regression models that predict the likelihood of a respondent using transit as their primary mode for getting groceries before the pandemic (step 1) and then during the pandemic (step 2). Models are conducted for two survey waves, May 2020 and March 2021. We also conduct zero-inflated negative binomial regression models predicting the frequency respondents ordered groceries online. Results: Transit riders over the age of 64 were more likely to use transit to reach groceries before the pandemic and more likely to continue to do so during the pandemic (wave 1, OR, 1.63; CI, 1.24-2.14; wave 2, OR, 1.35; CI, 1.03-1.76). Essential workers were more likely to continue using transit to reach groceries during the pandemic (wave 1, OR, 1.33; CI, 1.24-1.43; wave 2, OR, 1.18; CI, 1.06-1.32). Walking distance to the nearest grocery store was positively associated with using transit to get groceries pre-pandemic (wave 1, OR, 1.02; CI, 1.01-1.03; wave 2, OR, 1.02; CI, 1.01-1.03), and in May 2020 (wave 1, OR 1.01; (1.00-1.02). During the pandemic, people who stopped using transit to get groceries were less likely to have made zero online grocery purchases (wave 1, OR, 0.56; CI, 0.41-0.75; wave 2, OR, 0.62; CI, 0.41-0.94). Discussion: People still physically commuting to work were more likely to still use transit to get groceries. Among transit riders, older adults and those living far walking distances from grocery stores are more likely to use transit to get groceries. Older transit riders and those with higher incomes were also more likely to use grocery delivery services, while female, Black, and immigrant riders were less likely to do so.

Frequent public transit users views and attitudes toward cycling in CANADA in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Several Canadian cities observed a shift from public transit use to private cars and active transport modes during the COVID-19 pandemic. At a moment where pre-pandemic public transit users are reconsidering their travel options, studies describing their attitudes toward cycling are lacking. Because most trips in urban areas involve short- and mid-range travel, cycling is seen as a promising environmentally sustainable means of transportation. This study aims to describe how pre-pandemic public transit users in Toronto and Vancouver view cycling, including their comfort with available infrastructure, cycling frequency, and perceived barriers to adoption. Data from the Public Transit and COVID-19 Survey, a web-based panel survey of over 3,500 regular transit riders in Toronto and Vancouver administered in May 2020 and April 2021 were analysed. Applying Geller's typology, 70% of participants could be classified as interested but concerned and one fifth as no way no how regarding their comfort levels toward cycling. Women were more likely to be no way no how cyclist type. Weather, lack of safe routes, and having to carry things were the main barriers to cycling in both cities. Our results give insight on who should be targeted by city initiatives aiming to promote changes toward more active modes of transportation. Further studies with a causal design are required to identify possible mitigating strategies to the main barriers to cycling.

Facing the future of transit ridership: shifting attitudes towards public transit and auto ownership among transit riders during COVID-19

Public transit agencies face a transformed landscape of rider demand and political support as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. We explore people’s motivations for returning to or avoiding public transit a year into the pandemic. We draw on a March 2021 follow-up survey of over 1,900 people who rode transit regularly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, and who took part in a prior survey on the topic in May 2020. We investigate how transit demand changes associated with the pandemic relate to changes in automobile ownership and its desirability. We find that pre-COVID frequent transit users between the ages of 18–29, a part of the so-called “Gen Z,” and recent immigrants are more attracted to driving due to the pandemic, with the latter group more likely to have actually purchased a vehicle. Getting COVID-19 or living with someone who did is also a strong and positive predictor of buying a car and anticipating less transit use after the pandemic. Our results suggest that COVID-19  may have increased the attractiveness of auto ownership among transit riders likely to eventually purchase cars anyway (immigrants, twentysomethings), at least in the North American context. We also conclude that getting COVID-19 or living with someone who did is a positive predictor of having bought a car. Future research should consider how having COVID-19 transformed some travelers’ views, values, and behaviour. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11116-022-10344-2.

Geographies of grocery shopping in major Canadian cities: Evidence from large-scale mobile app data

Socioeconomic and place-based factors contribute to grocery shopping patterns which may be important for diet and health. Big data provide the opportunity to explore behaviours at the population level. We used data collected from Flipp, a free all-in-one savings and deals content app, to identify visitation to grocery stores and estimate home-to-store distances, monthly frequencies and number of unique stores visited in eight Canadian cities during 2020. Grocery shopping outcomes and associations with income, population density and percentage of car commuters were explored using data aggregated at the Aggregate Dissemination Area level in which app users lived. Changes in patterns of grocery shopping following restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were also investigated. The median of average home-to-store distances ranged from 4 to 5 km across all cities throughout 2020. Shorter distances for grocery shopping were shown consistently for shoppers living in lower income, densely populated and low car-commuting ADAs. A maximum of three unique supermarkets were visited on average each month. Decreases in the frequency and variability of grocery store visits were shown across all cities in April 2020 following the implementation of restrictions in response to COVID-19, and pre-pandemic levels of shopping were rarely achieved by the end of the year. Ultimately, these results provide much needed information regarding the characteristics of grocery shopping trips in a high-income country, as well as how food shopping was impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This information will be useful for a range of future studies seeking to characterise access to food retail.

Inequalities of extreme commuting across Canada

There is growing body of research and practice assessing transportation equity and justice. Commuting is an especially important dimension to study since such frequent, non-discretionary travel, can come at the expense of time for other activities and therefore negatively impact mental health and well-being. An ”extreme commuter” is a worker who has a particularly burdensome commute, and has previously been defined based on one-way commute times above 60 or 90 minutes. In this paper, we examine the social and geographic inequalities of extreme commuting in Canada. We use a 25% sample of all commuters in Canada in 2016 (n = 4,543,417) and our analysis consists of descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. The average one-way commute time in 2016 across Canada was 26 minutes, but over 9.7% of the workforce had commute times exceeding 60 minutes. However, this rate of extreme commuting was 11.5% for low-income households, 13.5% for immigrants, and 13.4% among non-white Canadians, reaching as high as 18.6% for Black Canadians and 14.7% for Latin American Canadians specifically. We find that these inequalities persist even after controlling for household factors, commute mode, occupation, and built environment characteristics. The persistently significant effects of race in our models point to factors like housing and employment discrimination as possible contributors to extreme commuting. These results highlight commuting disparities at a national scale prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and represents clear evidence of structural marginalization contributing to racialized inequalities in the critical metric of daily commute times seldom recognized by Canadian scholars and planners.

Riders Who Avoided Public Transit During COVID-19

Millions of North Americans stopped riding public transit in response to COVID-19. We treat this crisis as a natural experiment to illustrate the importance of public transit in riders’ abilities to access essential destinations. We measured the impacts of riders forgoing transit through a survey of transportation barriers completed by more than 4,000 transit riders in Toronto and Vancouver (Canada). We used Heckman selection models to predict six dimensions of transport disadvantage and transport-related social exclusions captured in our survey. We then complemented model results with an analysis of survey comments describing barriers that individuals faced. Lack of access to alternative modes is the strongest predictor of a former rider experiencing transport disadvantage, particularly neighborhood walkability and vehicle ownership. Groups at risk of transport disadvantage before COVID-19, particularly women and people in poorer health, were also more likely to report difficulties while avoiding public transit. Barriers described by respondents included former supports no longer offering rides, gendered household car use dynamics, and lack of culturally specific or specialized amenities within walking distance.Policymakers should plan for a level of redundancy in transportation systems that enables residents to access essential destinations when unexpected service losses occur. Designing communities that enable residents to walk to those essential destinations will help reduce the burdens faced by transit riders during crises that render transit unfeasible. At the same time, planners championing active travel as an alternative to transit during such crises also need to devise solutions for former transit riders for whom active travel is ill suited, for example, due to physical challenges with carrying groceries or needing to chaperone children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of the American Planning Association is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The uneven impacts of avoiding public transit on riders' access to healthcare during COVID-19.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many urban residents stopped riding public transit despite their reliance on it to reach essential services like healthcare. Few studies have examined the implications of public transit reliance on riders' ability to reach healthcare when transit is disrupted. To understand how shocks to transportation systems impact healthcare access, this study measures the impact of avoiding public transit on the ability of riders to access healthcare and pharmacy services during lockdowns. Methods: We deployed a cross-sectional survey of residents of Toronto and Vancouver in May 2020 through Facebook advertisements and community list-serves. Eligibility criteria included riding transit at least weekly prior to the pandemic and subsequent cessation of transit use during the pandemic. We applied multivariable modified Poisson models to identify socio-demographic, transportation, health-related, and neighborhood predictors of experiencing increased difficulty accessing healthcare and getting prescriptions while avoiding public transit. We also predicted which respondents reported deferring medical care until they felt comfortable riding transit again. Results: A total of 4367 former transit riders were included (64.2% female, 56.1% Toronto residents). Several factors were associated with deferring medical care including: being non-White (Toronto, APR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.00-1.29; Vancouver, APR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.26-1.84), having a physical disability (Toronto, APR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.00-1.45; Vancouver, APR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.08-1.87), having no vehicle access (Toronto, APR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.51-2.00; Vancouver, APR, 2.74; 95% CI, 2.20-3.42), and having low income (Toronto, APR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.44-2.17; Vancouver, APR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.06-2.14). Discussion: During COVID-19 in two major Canadian cities, former transit riders from marginalized groups were more likely to defer medical care than other former riders. COVID-19 related transit disruptions may have imposed a disproportionate burden on the health access of marginalized individuals. Policymakers should consider prioritizing healthcare access for vulnerable residents during crises.