Variations in Mode Choice of Residents Prior and during COVID-19: An Empirical Evidence from Johannesburg, South Africa

There have been numerous studies on the impact of COVID-19 on mobility in most developed countries; however, few of the studies have focused on the impact of the pandemic in developing countries, especially in Africa. In view of this, our study examined the impact of the pandemic on residents’ transportation mode choice in South Africa. This study adopted the use of both primary and secondary data obtained from TomTom statistics and an online survey of respondents’ mobility patterns before and during the pandemic. The questionnaire was administered through emails, and respondents were asked to provide information about their socio-economic characteristics, travel characteristics (before and during COVID-19), and the effect of COVID-19 on their travel patterns. A multinomial logistic model was adopted for analysis, and the findings revealed that variations existed in trip frequency, trip purpose, and mode choice of people before and during the pandemic. It was also discovered that respondents shifted from the use of public transport to private cars during the pandemic as a result of the implications for their health. Based on this, we propose that an enabling environment and an efficient transport planning technique should be adopted by the government and relevant stakeholders in the transport sector. This will integrate all modes of transport to reduce the over-reliance on private automobiles and also to encourage the use of non-motorized transport (walk/cycle) for sustainable transport planning in the future.