Abstract
During the COVID-19 crisis, a series of measures were taken to restrict travel and social activities outside the home in order to curb the pandemic and ameliorate its negative effects. These unprecedented measures have had a profound impact on the number and purposes of trips and modes of travel. In China, although the pandemic is now generally under control and transport availability has returned to nearly normal, the extent of the changes in travel behaviour wrought during and after the pandemic still remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the differences in individual travel behaviours during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, using Huzhou as an example. Semi-structured interviews were used to examine the influence of COVID-19 on the travel behaviour and perceptions of different groups. The results indicate that, initially, travel demand was greatly reduced. Second, decreased travel reduced participation in activities, which can have adverse effects on people’s health as well as their subjective well-being. Third, the degree and duration of such impacts varied from person to person. Students, lower income cohorts, groups living in small communities with insufficient green spaces, and those working in tourism, catering, informal businesses and transport-related sectors were more vulnerable than others. Policymakers, urban and transport planners should therefore pay attention to the social inequities that arise from unequal access to transport and heterogeneity between individuals. Additionally, public transport systems require further development to promote social cohesion.
Highlights
Severe viral diseases such as Ebola, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have drastic impacts on individuals ranging from psychological impacts to physical disability and mortality
According to the findings of the interviews, travel demand in Huzhou dropped significantly, and the purposes of travel changed greatly during the period between January and March 2020, which aligns with the conclusions reached by De Vos (2020)
This study discussed how COVID-19 affected travel behaviour in Huzhou and has shown which groups were more vulnerable to the ef fects of travel restrictions, economic losses and other adverse conse quences of the pandemic, resulting in health issues and social inequity
Summary
Severe viral diseases such as Ebola, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have drastic impacts on individuals ranging from psychological impacts to physical disability and mortality. These diseases can drastically change people’s lives in other ways, for example through huge financial losses and the disruption of their education or career (Chisholm et al, 2010; Golics et al, 2013; Mitchell et al, 2015). By August 2021, the outbreak had affected>200 countries, and almost 210 million infections had been confirmed (Worldometer, 2021). The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in a range of policies and measures aimed at controlling the virus, such as lockdowns, social distancing, school closures and quarantining, severely restricting travel and many other activities globally (Budd and Ison, 2020; De Vos, 2020; Dzisi and Dei, 2020; Ferguson et al, 2020; Iio et al, 2021; Kim, 2021)
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