Do Built Environment Factors Have Different Effects on Ridesourcing Usage Before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic?
25 Pages Posted: 7 Jan 2023
Date Written: October 7, 2022
Abstract
Ridesourcing has developed rapidly in recent years and has had a transformative impact on travel behavior and urban mobility. However, studies on how COVID-19 influences the utilization of ridesourcing are scarce. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal difference in ridesourcing usage before and after the pandemic, and the differential impacts of built environment factors on ridesourcing usage using real-world trip data in Chicago. Results show average ridesourcing usage in the post-pandemic period failed to recover to pre-pandemic trip volumes by June 2022. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) are applied to analyze the nonlinear built environment effects on ridesourcing usage. The effects of population density, intersection density, land use mix, population employment balance index, and bus accessibility on ridesourcing pick-up usage post pandemic are significantly different compared to pre pandemic. For example, population density had an overall positive effect pre pandemic. However, a significant negative effect was observed in areas with extremely high population density post pandemic. The positive effect of land use mix before the pandemic also turns into a negative effect after the pandemic. It seems that COVID-19 is having long-term effects on ridesourcing usage, at least in Chicago. Relevant policies and tailored land-use interventions should be updated in the post-pandemic era.
Keywords: ridesourcing, travel behavior analysis, COVID-19, generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs), nonlinearity, shared mobility
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