COVID-19 – A window of opportunity for the transition toward sustainable mobility?

Abstract

The mobility sector was one of the sectors most affected by COVID-19 and its political restrictions, with, inter alia a huge drop in mobility behavior due to travel bans, lockdowns, and a reduced need to be mobile. The present study examined the potential of COVID-19 restrictions aiming at containing the spread of the virus to be a window of opportunity for the transition toward sustainable mobility by breaking up strongly habitualized daily and travel mobility behaviors through changes of behavioral contexts. We conducted an online survey in a sample representative for the German population (N = 3092) to study the consequences of the COVID-19 restrictions on Germans’ daily and travel mode choices and on their wishes for future mobility. Furthermore, we examined the moderating effects of Germans’ personal norms to protect the climate on changes in their mobility behavior toward sustainable mobility, both within and beyond the corona pandemic. In line with previous research, the present study shows an overall reduction of mobility across almost all modes of transport for daily and travel mobility during time periods of COVID-19 restrictions compared to pre-COVID-19-times, with different transport modes being affected differently. Our findings additionally point out the relevance of personal norms to protect the climate for the transition toward sustainable mobility behavior. Altogether, the present study provides first empirical evidence for the corona pandemic to represent a window of opportunity for the transition toward sustainable mobility. Furthermore, the study also points out relevant directions for further research.