Travel Behaviour of Vulnerable Social Groups: Pre, during, and Post COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Since the emergence of COVID-19, travel restrictions due to the pandemic have influenced several activities, in particular the mobility patterns of individuals. Our main goal is to draw the attention of scholars and policy makers to a specific segment of the population, namely (1) older people, (2) persons with disabilities (PwDs), (3) females, and (4) low-income population that are more vulnerable for travel behaviour change due to crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article systematically reviews the studies that have explored the implications of COVID-19 for the mobility and activities of individuals pre-, during, and post-pandemic using the PRISMA method. It is found that there are a few studies regarding the travel and mobility needs and challenges of older people and PwDs, and there is no direct study concerning female and low-income individuals while such crisis exist. Questions such as “What are the adverse impacts of restrictions on their travel behaviour?”, “How can they travel safely to work, shopping, and medical centres?”, “Which transportation modes can be more effective for them?”, and “What are the government and policy makers’ role in providing accessible and affordable mobility services in the presence of such crisis?” are without relevant answers in the literature.

Timed up-and-go performance is associated with objectively measured life space in patients 3 months after ischemic stroke: a cross-sectional observational study

“…above 65 years of age) compared to younger people [ 9 ]. The latter finding is in contrast to other research reporting that particularly older people and vulnerable people were affected by COVID-19-related mobility restrictions [ 12 , 31 , 40 ]. The specific circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered when interpreting the results of the study at hand.…”

Two-Step Cluster Analysis of Passenger Mobility Segmentation during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The following study confirmed the impact of the pandemic on public transport and also dealt with the issue of the gender gap in travel behaviour during the development of the pandemic. This contribution, as well as the results of our research, highlighted the increased risk of infection in women [76]. A study in Belgium about mobility indicated a high proportion of infected women out of the total number of people infected with the COVID-19 virus.…”

A study on the factors that influenced the choice of transport mode before, during, and after the first lockdown in Milan, Italy

“…Besides, the age of the respondents is related to the choice of transport mode after the lockdown. The positive relationship with public transport users shows that older people are (1.5 times) more likely to use public transport after lockdown meaning that older adults preferred using public transport after the pandemic and younger adults preferred using active mode versus public transport that could be due to the better accessibility of public transport for older people in the city ( Dadashzadeh et al, 2022 ; Guida & Carpentieri, 2021 ). It is noteworthy that the survey was carried out when people were still under the stay-at-home measure (lockdown) and the modal choice after lockdown represents their preferences and interests for their daily travel after lockdown.…”