How do we best organize our mobility during and after the corona crisis? How do we take sustainability, safety and inclusion into account? To answer these questions, Hive.Mobility partners, University of Groningen and the municipality of Groningen, are joining forces with a large number of other universities and institutions. They are jointly researching the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on our mobility system.
Impact corona crisis
The COVID-19 crisis is creating major challenges for our mobility system. Before the crisis, congestion continued to increase and public transport was overcrowded during rush hour. During the lockdown, the traffic volume dropped abruptly, but we see this increase again during the relaxation of measures. In addition, travel behaviour has changed: travellers may prefer the car or bicycle rather than public transport because of fear of contamination.
Mobility policy
To guarantee accessibility during, but also after, the corona crisis, a coordinated package of measures is needed. This package must lead to the right mix of modes of transport, choice of travel time and trip suppression (e.g. working from home). The research therefore looks at the effect of the corona crisis on travel behaviour and the performance of the (public) transport system. In addition, sustainable, safe and inclusive recommendations are made for the mobility policy during and after the corona crisis.
“Knowing more about people’s mobility behaviour and what influences their behaviour is crucial to stimulate sustainable mobility.“
Travel behaviour
The University of Groningen will focus in particular on the effect of COVID-19 on the behaviour of travellers.
Leonie Vrieling, postdoc researcher: “Knowing more about people’s mobility behaviour and what influences their behaviour is crucial to stimulate sustainable mobility.”
Data
Various data sources are used and combined to conduct the research. The municipality of Groningen will also share data on traffic movements in the city.
“By linking multiple data sources and theory and practice in this project, we can optimally utilize the potential of (mobility) data and arrive at new insights”, says Terry Albronda, from the municipality of Groningen.
Think along with us
The University of Groningen is looking for various options for data collection, in particular for measuring the effects of working from home. Is this research interesting for you as an employer and would you like to contribute ideas about its design and implementation? Then register for an online session that the University of Groningen is organizing together with Hive.Mobility in November. You can register via info@hivemobility.nl
For more information about this project, click here.
