Changes in transport behaviour during the Covid-19 crisis

The restrictions put in place to limit the diffusion and impacts of Covid-19 have had a widespread impact on people’s lives, and the way energy is used across entire economies.
 One of the biggest impacts has been the reduction in passenger transport demand, due to a combination of government lockdowns and fears of contracting and spreading the virus when using mass transport modes. While freight transport has also been reduced, the drivers of freight activity during the current crisis are complex, driven by both supply- and demand-side factors, and in the latter, by the need to keep essential services operating. In contrast, passenger transport, (for both leisure and business travel) is often optional, and more influenced by people’s decision-making processes. The focus of this paper is therefore on passenger transport.