Multistate Assessment of Roadway Travel, Social Separation, and COVID-19 Cases

Abstract

This research was undertaken to comparatively assess the unprecedented travel and activity conditions related to the onset of coronavirus disease of 2019 in the US in the first half of 2020. In this effort, roadway traffic volumes were used to relate government directives for social separation and COVID-19 case progression in ten diversely populated and located states. Among the key contributions of the research were its illustration of the amount and time scale of public response to activity restrictions across the country and the general finding that overall, governmental directives, as reflected in rapid traffic decreases, likely served their purpose. Another key finding was that by June 1st, no state had completely returned to routine levels of travel. Combined, the results of this study illustrate the effect of governmental action with respect to the course of the virus, including how varied timings of responses reflected outcomes based on the levels of threat and characteristics of individual locations. It is expected that this paper will be of use to practitioners, governmental, and researchers to assess and develop plans for future similar major events and emergencies.

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions in NW of Spain

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COVID-19 effects on urban driving, walking, and transit usage trends: Evidence from Indian metropolitan cities

“…Universal mask policy, social distancing protocols, closure of educational and other business institutions, constrained attendance policies in offices, work from home culture, online shopping, and travel restrictions became a part of the ‘new normal’ ( WHO, 2020 ; Wilder-Smith & Freedman, 2020 ). The transportation sector also endured substantial disruptions due to the changes induced by non-pharmaceutical interventions to break the chain of spread ( Liu & Stern, 2021 ; Parr et al, 2021 ). The percussions of the pandemic on transportation systems are long-term, with effects on the transport infrastructure, operations, mode choice, and overall user behavior ( Tirachini & Cats, 2020 ).…”

Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Travel Behavior in Large Cities of China: Investigation on the Lockdown and Reopening Phases

“…Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 at the end of 2019 (Chinazzi et al 2020), profound changes have taken place in urban travel behavior around the globe, e.g., unessential trips were reduced (Hu et al 2021), working from home became a trend (Caballini et al 2021;Hensher et al 2021), and autonomous delivery vehicles were introduced to enable contactless delivery (Kapser et al 2021). Researchers in the field of transportation have paid much attention to the impact of COVID-19 on urban mobility behavior (Liu and Stern 2021;Parr et al 2021Parr et al , 2020 and policies that would help contain the spread of the pandemic (Ding et al 2021;Lu et al 2021;Mo et al 2021). However, existing studies discussed little about the postpandemic situation, where almost no new cases appear.…”