Perceived discrimination, transit use, and walking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the Understanding America Study

Abstract

A rise in reporting and media coverage of negative social interactions and experiences of racism in transit and other public environments suggests that perceived discrimination may have affected the travel behavior and health of people of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, to examine relationships between race, perceived discrimination, transit use, and walking behavior, we draw on data collected in 20 waves of the Understanding America Study (UAS) COVID-19 tracking survey, fielded July 2020–July 2021. Importantly, we find that transit use among minorities continued during the pandemic at higher rates, especially among Black and Hispanic respondents, despite non-White respondents reporting more frequent perceptions of discrimination. Our linear mixed-effect model results further indicate that non-White respondents were notably more likely to use transit. Examining walking behavior, we find that White and Asian respondents consistently reported more walking than Black and Hispanic respondents, even when controlling for income. Crucially, we found that in the presence of controls, while large disparities were observed in both walking and transit behavior based on race, perceived discrimination had little to no effect. While disparities in travel behavior based on race are evidently better explained by structural factors as opposed to overt, individual-level discrimination, planners, policymakers, and designers should nevertheless give greater consideration to micro- and macro-scale interventions that facilitate safe transit use and walking for racial and ethnic minorities.