COVID-19 Impact Analysis on Travel Behavior Change: A Case Study of Suzhou, China

Travel behavior has changed all around the world during the COVID-19, and the policymakers need react accordingly to mitigate negative effects. This study aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 on travel frequency and mode change in urban area. There were 3,308 questionnaires collected in November 2020, Suzhou, China. The results of the stated preference experiment show that 41.17% of respondents decreased travel frequency, and 11.28% of respondents switched from public transportation to private car. The travel frequency and mode changing are analysed using decision tree and mixed logit model, with random variables to reflect individual heterogeneity. The results show that: (1) Large-size household travel habit is more probable to change, including travel frequency decreasing and prefer traveling by car. (2) The attractiveness of public transportation has significantly decreased during the pandemic, and regular buses are more difficult to restore normal passenger volume than metro. (3) The pandemic has increased the desire to purchase cars and changed the travel mode. This paper analyses the changes in travel behavior during COVID-19 and contributes to prompting the revival of public transportation during the pandemic.