“COVID年”将如何改变我们的旅行方式?

2019冠状病毒病大流行影响了我们生活的方方面面, 包括我们如何从一个地方到另一个地方, 无论是本地的还是全局的. 许多健康问题, 经济, 以及我们在2020年面临的社会政策挑战, 前所未有的一年, 无疑会持续数年.

查看交通数据并研究如何, 当, 在哪里, and why we are traveling as we move into the future will inform solutions to developing transportation policies to meet the demands of the “new normal.” “There may be long-lasting changes in travel patterns because of 新型冠状病毒肺炎,詹姆斯·詹尼斯说, Ph.D., Associate Director and Manager of Human Factors Research in 趣赢平台’s Center for 运输, 技术 & 安全研究.

“The public will want less person-to-person interaction to travel, 可能会持续很长一段时间. 像大规模实地研究这样的工具, 观察性研究, and household travel surveys can help gauge 在哪里 we are in the short term and how we move through this crisis and forward,博士说。. Jenness. “这些研究可以在当地进行, 区域, 甚至在全国范围内, 加上严格的统计分析和评估.” This research will inform resource-strained regions about the new normal of travel, helping policymakers find solutions within the confines of tighter budgets, to be more resource efficient and effective while enhancing the safety of the traveling public.

我们如何旅行

公共交通工具, 轻轨, and subways—will continue to be challenged as they remain functioning yet with significantly reduced ridership, incurring additional operating expenses for increased cleaning and disinfecting. 公共交通乘客愿意戴口罩吗? 在非高峰时间出行? 对增加清洁的规程有信心? “We will face a challenge to restore confidence in public transit,博士说。. Jenness. “People who have a choice may prefer the sanctity of their own vehicle, 就像一个安全泡沫, and in some cities we are seeing people seek out and use alternative modes of transportation such as bicycles and electric bikes that allow for some degree of social distance. 长途旅行, 飞机旅行曾经是常态的地方, 我们可能会看到更多的人选择自己开车. The current low price of gasoline also makes this attractive.”

Here, again, the answers to these questions rely on research. Tools like online surveys that can drill down into the public’s comfort level will be key. Smartphone apps can gather and deliver survey data of up-to-date travel and real-time activity. Household travel surveys at local and 状态 levels can develop models of travel demand and forecasting, 以及交通规划活动. These surveys can collect detailed sociodemographic data and detailed travel behavior data, pinpointing areas of particular concern and how travel activity and behavior change over time.

游客的行为

Despite fewer vehicles on the inter状态s and regional roads due to the stay-at-home orders in a majority of 状态s, 交通安全已成为一个重大问题. 崩溃减少了，但发生的事情更加严重. “超速, 积极推动, 风险的增加是最常见的原因,耶利米·辛格写道, 韦斯特大学的研究助理. “People have the opportunity to speed due to the largely empty roadways,他解释道, “but the level of extreme speeding has become a significant problem, with people being ticketed going 100 mph and above on a regular basis.”

Mr. 辛格对司机的行为做了广泛的研究, 分散注意力, 注意, 和意见在路上, closed-course, 以及实验室研究. “人们压力很大，”他指出. “人们受到个人健康问题的压力, 个人经济问题, 再加上那些待在家里的命令, 现在, 全职疲劳. It will be important to study how these effects are piling up on driver behavior.” Researchers can tap into publically available data on speeding and other violations to get a clear picture of what’s actually going on out there on the roads. Following up with online surveys about behavior will provide significant insight.

And behavior behind the wheel is also affecting pedestrians. More people are choosing to walk or bike rather than potentially exposing themselves to the virus on public transit. 更多的人步行和骑自行车, 再加上超速驾驶的增加, 好吧, 这是一个大问题的配方. “行人和车辆之间的相互作用。. Singer, “might result in more severe incidents, more fatalities. 野外观测研究, 路研究, 实验室研究, 在线焦点小组, 而采访将会为我们提供正在发生的事情的答案.”

We ask more questions than we can answer here, but the data will point the way to those answers. 这些“新型冠状病毒肺炎年”无法与以前的数据进行比较. 这里没有苹果和苹果之间的比较. 联邦, 状态, and local governments and the commercial sector will benefit by relying on the tools of transportation research to find a new road through the “new normal.”