Global city mobility study reveals COVID-19’s impact on transportation habits

COVID-19 reshaped mobility patterns worldwide, affecting walking, driving and public transit use, finds a new study published in The Lancet Public Health. The research, led by an international team including researchers in the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, analyzed data from nearly 300 cities to understand how urban transportation habits adapted during the pandemic.

“COVID-19 created a global ‘natural experiment,’ giving us a unique opportunity to study real-time changes in urban mobility,” said Rodrigo Reis, a professor at the Brown School and a co-author of the study titled, “City mobility patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of a global natural experiment.”

The team examined data from Apple’s Mobility Trends Reports, covering 296 cities around the globe from January 2020 to February 2022. The study found a sharp decline in all forms of transportation during the initial 2020 lockdowns. However, by April 2020, mobility began to rebound at different rates, influenced by city density, pandemic severity and economic conditions.

“When considering a future pandemic, this study shows the complementary roles that multiple sectors, including transport planning, urban design and health care, can play in responding to both existing and novel public health concerns,” Reis said. “Integrating and coordinating policies and actions that promote healthy urban planning, including active transportation, will help future-proof cities against the impacts of pandemics.”

Lower-density cities saw quicker recoveries in driving and walking, while dense urban areas, reliant on public transit, recovered more slowly. Cities with higher infection rates saw increased driving and walking, while cities with fewer cases turned to public transportation.

The study also examined more than 500 global policies on mobility and active transportation, aiming to inform future urban planning that supports healthier and more resilient cities.

“Active transportation such as walking, cycling and public transportation has well-known health benefits,” Reis said. “It reduces the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and premature death and offers multiple co-benefits including environmental, economic and social. Active travel can jointly address major challenges in cities such as traffic safety and road congestion, chronic diseases, fiscal constraints, air pollution and carbon emissions.”