Download This PaperQuantifying the Impact of COVID-19 on Travel Behavior in Different Socio-Economic Segments
17 Pages Posted: 22 Aug 2022 Last revised: 24 Oct 2022
Date Written: August 20, 2022
Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of COVID-19 on travel behavior in different socio-economic segments in the USA using integrated mobile device location data over the period 1 Jan 2020 ~ 20 Apr 2021. A fixed-effect panel regression model is estimated to statistically identify the relationship between COVID monitoring measures and travel behavior such as nonwork/work trips, travel miles, out-of-state trips, and the incidence of WFH in different socio-economic segments. We find that as exposure to COVID increases, the number of trips and traveling miles starts to bounce back to pre-COVID levels, while the incidence of WFH remained relatively stable and may never return to pre-COVID level. The findings have implications for understanding the heterogeneous mobility response of individuals in different socio-economic segments to various COVID waves, and thus can provide insights into the recovery of travel behavior.
Keywords: COVID-19, Travel behavior, Socio-economic segments, Mobile device location data, Fixed-effect panel regression model
JEL Classification: C40, C54
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