Starting in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant and long-lasting effects on the organization of work activities and travel as many workers have adopted hybrid work schedules. Essential workers and members of lower-income communities have been less able to adapt to flexible work schedules and have experienced more impacts from the pandemic. More recently, supply chain disruptions, rising costs of living in U.S. cities, and international tensions that have led to sharp changes in gas prices have put further pressure on members of low-income and disadvantaged communities, who often already have lower mobility and economic power.

This study will expand on and complement an existing large behavioral study carried out at UC Davis on evolving activity patterns and travel choices during these times of disruption, focusing on in-depth interviews of members of low-income and disadvantaged communities. Due to the difficulty in reaching members of these communities and the limited information that can be captured on their specific circumstances from larger quantitative surveys and other data collection methods, the researchers will identify participants from previous related research to be resampled for a round of semi-structured interviews to be carried out in either English or Spanish, discussing changes in their private and work activities, availability of travel modes, and changes in living costs and gas prices, among other topics. The information gathered from these interviews together with survey data will help provide important insights on the way households in these communities are adjusting to the current disruptions and help inform planning processes and shape policy recommendations to fill equity gaps and improve mobility for all.

Los Angeles (LA) is one of the most car-dependent regions worldwide. It has a sprawled urban form, a well-connected highway system, and a limited set of reliable alternatives to car travel. Considering the threats of Climate Change and the availability of emerging mobility technologies such as ride-hailing (also known as Transportation Network Companies, or TNCs), shared micromobility (e.g., bike-sharing, e-scooters), electric vehicles, and vehicle automation, the way people travel as well as the role of cars are likely to change in the future. As a result, there is a strong need to better understand mobility types and factors affecting car dependence in LA to set a baseline for a more sustainable future for transportation system. It is particularly important to explore how travel is organized and which role the car plays for different groups in LA because the region has a diverse representation of households with various socio-economic and demographic backgrounds, which creates significant variability in terms of transportation availability. As the world enters the post-pandemic era, this study can serve as one of the pioneer efforts to explore how the transportation landscape will evolve after COVID-19. Given these considerations, this research project aims to assess mobility types and car dependence in the region and draw from these to develop policy implications that will help reshape the transportation system in LA. The research team will design and administer a cross-sectional survey and analyze the data collected in multiple neighborhoods in the LA region. The online survey will be administered in winter 2023. This unique dataset will allow the in-depth analysis of respondents’ travel preferences, attitudes towards the use of cars and other travel modes, perceptions regarding the built environment and transportation infrastructure, and psychological factors that affect activity-travel behaviors. With this knowledge, the research team will be able to identify and differentiate subjective and objective dimensions of car dependence and define distinctive mobility types in the region. Researchers will develop weights to address any potential issues related to the lack of representativeness in the sample and to ensure the findings can mirror LA residents’ travel behavior and mobility preferences. This study will allow the research team to understand mobility patterns and travelers’ characteristics in the LA region and help guide policymakers in developing strategies that can address the variations in individuals’ mobility needs based on socio-spatial differences in the future.