Project Summary
With widespread business closures and stay-at-home restrictions due to COVID-19, commuting has dropped while telecommuting and e-commerce have soared. This joint UC Berkeley/UC Irvine project seeks to understand opportunities and potential impacts of COVID-19 on commuting and e-commerce. The research team proposes a mixed-method approach comprised of expert interviews, focus groups in Northern and Southern California, an online survey of Californians (n=~1,000), and a survey of super commuters (n=up to 500). The survey of the California population will show how travelers have been affected by COVID-19 for commuting and shopping and provide vital information about mode shift, public transit use, and willingness to share transportation post COVID-19. Understanding how Californians work and shop is critical to informing a number of policies at various levels of government including: AB/SB 32 (California’s Climate Change Solutions Act); SB 375 (Smart Growth Strategies); SB 743 (Converting Level of Service to VMT metrics under the California Environmental Quality Act); and other local and state transportation demand management (TDM) and commute trip reduction laws, ordinances, and policies. The data collected on goods delivery behavior will also have widespread implications, such as recommending a new set of TDM policy strategies for retailers, freight/supply chains management, and other stakeholders.
