How are Attitudes Toward COVID-19 Associated with Traveler Behavior During the Pandemic?

Abstract

This article uses data from the first wave of the COVID Future Panel study to evaluate attitudes towards COVID-19 and their influence on traveler behaviors. An exploratory factor analysis identified two underlying constructs based on the measured attitudes, namely "Concern about Pandemic Response" and "COVID Health Concern." A cluster analysis based on the factor scores yielded four groups with distinct attitudes. Those primarily concerned about the pandemic response traveled the most using private vehicles, while those equally concerned about the response to the pandemic and the health effects of COVID-19 were found to use personal bicycles and transit the most. QuestionsThis article investigates the relationship between attitudes toward COVID-19 and traveler behavior, particularly focusing on mode use and activity engagement during the pandemic. While attitudes toward COVID-19 have already been identified as affecting current and expected post-pandemic behaviors (Conway et al. 2020;, this study explicitly distinguishes between and focuses on concerns about the response to the pandemic (as in a feeling that society is over-reacting and the economic impacts of shutting down are not justified) and health concerns about having a severe reaction to COVID.The analysis in this article identified Concern about Pandemic Response and COVID Health Concern as two different attitudinal constructs. The research addresses how these COVID-19 attitudinal constructs are associated with traveler behaviors observed during the pandemic. MethodsThis study uses data from the first wave of the COVID Future Panel Survey (Salon et al. 2021;Chauhan, Conway, et al. 2021). The sample includes 7,593 respondents from across the United States (US) who completed the survey between June and October 2020 (Wave 1b). The data were weighted to replicate national distributions of age, education, gender, Hispanic status, household income, presence of children, and number of household vehicles. Importantly, the weighting methodology adjusted for the marginal distributions without inflating the sample size (for more information, please refer to Chauhan, Conway, et al. 2021).

Influence of Mode Use on Level of Satisfaction with Daily Travel Routine: A Focus on Automobile Driving in the United States

“…The percentage of respondents indicating that they have a disability is very small (only 2% indicate that they cannot drive a vehicle); consequently, within the context of this study, disability status is unlikely to be a statistically significant explanatory variable (because of the very small sample size of individuals with disabilities). However, it should be recognized that those with disabilities experience diminished quality of life, well-being, and satisfaction with daily activity-travel patterns ( 14 ).…”

Exploring attitude-behaviour dynamics during COVID-19: How fear of infection and working from home influence train use and the attitude toward this mode

“…Various empirical studies have examined the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel preferences and behaviour. Empirical research has found substantial changes in travel frequency and trip purpose during the pandemic ( Capasso da Silva et al, 2021 , De Haas et al, 2020 , Kar et al, 2021 , Salon et al, 2021 ). Specifically, trip frequency and distances travelled decreased, mostly due to travel restrictions such as lockdown and stay-at-home orders in most countries.…”

“…Many studies have found a significant drop in public transport ridership and an increase in private automobile and active transport mode use ( Abdullah et al, 2021 , De Haas et al, 2020 , Salon et al, 2021 , Shamshiripour et al, 2020 ), where sometimes a car is purchased especially to replace public transport trips ( van Hagen et al, 2021 ). Unlike changes in travel distance, trip frequency, and trip purpose which are likely introduced by travel restrictions (e.g., lockdown), a mode switch and increased WFH levels are likely due to health concerns and fears of infection as sharing space with other people can be perceived as unsafe during this time ( Capasso da Silva et al, 2021 ).…”