The Influence of The Covid-19 Pandemic on Mode Choice Preference in Jakarta

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous global impact in only a few months. It coerces the government in any country to impose some strict policies to stop COVID-19 from spreading, i.e., stay-at-home requirements or household lockdowns. Travel behaviours are essentially impacted due to such measures. This study focuses on changes in travel behaviour caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in Jakarta. The data was taken through an online survey of 1138 respondents. The questionnaire in this study includes questions about the mode choice containing the purpose of the trip, frequency, travel distance, and several other supporting attribute factors in the pre-pandemic period until the early months of the pandemic. Results clarified that people's travel behaviour was considerably contrastive between those two different times, i.e., the frequency of being outside, transport apps used, and Eid and Christmas Homecoming Tradition. Moreover, the top destinations are grocery stores indicated for primary movement only. In this case, it can be seen that there is a shifting mode for people's daily movement, from what was previously public to private vehicles. Distance, activities, driving license, and vehicle ownership were essential considerations for mode choice throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings of this study may be helpful in transportation planning and establishing policies in the future.