ABSTRACT
In this paper, we investigate the travel behavior changes in Thessaloniki, Greece aiming to understand them and explore the factors that affect them under the COVID-19 mobility restriction measures. Socioeconomic and mobility data from two questionnaire surveys, one year before and during the COVID-19 lockdown of April 2020 (with 1462 and 196 responses respectively), were compared by utilizing a wide variety of inductive statistical tests. Ordinary Least-Squares regression models and Cox proportional hazards duration models were employed to explore any concurrent socioeconomic effect on travel behavior patterns. Results showed that the number of daily trips per person was on average decreased by 50% during the lockdown. This decrease was much greater for the non-commuting trips. Trips on foot were increased, private car was mainly used for commuting and public transport modal shares were heavily reduced. Trip durations were generally increased, as travelling was considered a recreational activity per se. The starting times of the first trips of the day were more evenly distributed throughout the day and many travelers only started their first trips late in the afternoon. Older travelers generally maintained their mobility behavior patterns despite their higher vulnerability to COVID-19 disease. Lower-income travelers were likely to make more daily trips. Male travelers tended to make higher-duration trips compared to their female counterparts. Since pandemics may become recurring events in the future, our findings provide for a better understanding of their influence on mobility and support the design of customized policies to fulfill sustainable mobility objectives during lockdown circumstances.
ABSTRACT
BackgroundCOVID-19 pandemic is a challenge that the world had never encountered in the last 100 years. In order to mitigate its negative effects, governments worldwide took action by prohibiting at first certain activities and in some cases by a countrywide lockdown. Greece was among the countries that were struck by the pandemic. Governmental authorities took action in limiting the spread of the pandemic through a series of countermeasures, which built up to a countrywide lockdown that lasted 42 days.MethodologyThis research aims at identifying the effect of certain socioeconomic factors on the travel behaviour of Greek citizens and at investigating whether any social groups were comparatively less privileged or suffered more from the lockdown. To this end, a dynamic online questionnaire survey on mobility characteristics was designed and distributed to Greek citizens during the lockdown period, which resulted in 1,259 valid responses. Collected data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistical tests, in order to identify mobility patterns and correlations with certain socioeconomic characteristics. Additionally, a Generalised Linear Model (GLM) was developed in order to examine the potential influence of socioeconomic characteristics to trip frequency before and during the lockdown period.ResultsOutcomes indicate a decisive decrease in trip frequencies due to the lockdown. Furthermore, the model’s results indicate significant correlations between gender, income and trip frequencies during the lockdown, something that is not evident in the pre-pandemic era.