Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting
The year 2020 was characterized by a marked shift in daily travel patterns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we know that overall travel decreased, less is known about modal shift among those who continued to travel during the pandemic or about the impact of these travel-behaviour changes on trans...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198221002360 |
| _version_ | 1818156201674801152 |
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| author | James DeWeese Léa Ravensbergen Ahmed El-Geneidy |
| author_facet | James DeWeese Léa Ravensbergen Ahmed El-Geneidy |
| author_sort | James DeWeese |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The year 2020 was characterized by a marked shift in daily travel patterns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we know that overall travel decreased, less is known about modal shift among those who continued to travel during the pandemic or about the impact of these travel-behaviour changes on transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. Focusing on a university setting and drawing from a travel survey conducted in Fall 2020 in Montreal, Canada (n = 3358), this study examines modal shifts and quantifies greenhouse gas emissions at three time periods in the year 2020: pre-pandemic, early pandemic, and later pandemic. The pandemic resulted in a sharp reduction in travel to campus. Among those who continued to travel to campus (n = 1580), car-to-final destination mode share almost tripled at the start of the pandemic. The largest modal shift seen was the transition from walking, cycling, and transit, to driving at the beginning of the pandemic. Reductions in overall travel resulted in lower overall transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. However, if modal changes persist once students, staff, and academics return to campus, the transport carbon footprint is projected to increase above pre-pandemic levels. These results highlight the importance of putting in place policies that support a return to sustainable modes as universities and businesses reopen for in-person activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T14:54:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-838b90c7afdd49acb77ad1d3955e91b5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-1982 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T14:54:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| spelling | doaj.art-838b90c7afdd49acb77ad1d3955e91b52022-12-22T01:01:21ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822022-03-0113100531Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university settingJames DeWeese0Léa Ravensbergen1Ahmed El-Geneidy2School of Urban Planning, McGill University, CanadaSchool of Urban Planning, McGill University, Canada; School of Urban Planning, Room 415 Macdonald-Harrington Building 815 Rue Sherbrooke O #400, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0C2, Canada; Corresponding author.School of Urban Planning, McGill University, CanadaThe year 2020 was characterized by a marked shift in daily travel patterns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we know that overall travel decreased, less is known about modal shift among those who continued to travel during the pandemic or about the impact of these travel-behaviour changes on transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. Focusing on a university setting and drawing from a travel survey conducted in Fall 2020 in Montreal, Canada (n = 3358), this study examines modal shifts and quantifies greenhouse gas emissions at three time periods in the year 2020: pre-pandemic, early pandemic, and later pandemic. The pandemic resulted in a sharp reduction in travel to campus. Among those who continued to travel to campus (n = 1580), car-to-final destination mode share almost tripled at the start of the pandemic. The largest modal shift seen was the transition from walking, cycling, and transit, to driving at the beginning of the pandemic. Reductions in overall travel resulted in lower overall transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. However, if modal changes persist once students, staff, and academics return to campus, the transport carbon footprint is projected to increase above pre-pandemic levels. These results highlight the importance of putting in place policies that support a return to sustainable modes as universities and businesses reopen for in-person activities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198221002360TransportCommuteCOVID-19Greenhouse gas emissionsTravel mode choice |
| spellingShingle | James DeWeese Léa Ravensbergen Ahmed El-Geneidy Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives Transport Commute COVID-19 Greenhouse gas emissions Travel mode choice |
| title | Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting |
| title_full | Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting |
| title_fullStr | Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting |
| title_short | Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting |
| title_sort | travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the covid 19 pandemic a case study in a university setting |
| topic | Transport Commute COVID-19 Greenhouse gas emissions Travel mode choice |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198221002360 |
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