Understanding Socioeconomic Disparities in Travel Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic

We document the magnitudes of and mechanisms behind socioeconomic differences in travel behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic. We focus on King County, Washington, one of the first places in the U.S. where Covid-19 was detected. We leverage novel and rich administrative and survey data on travel volumes, modes, and preferences for different demographic groups. Large average declines in travel, and in public transit use in particular, due to the pandemic and related policy responses mask substantial heterogeneity across socioeconomic groups. Travel intensity declined considerably less among less-educated and lower-income individuals, even after accounting for mode substitution and variation across neighborhoods in the impacts of public transit service reductions. The relative inability of less-educated and lower-income individuals to cease commuting explains at least half of the difference in travel responses across groups.