Combining Two Types of Data to Analyze the Effects of Covid-19 on Car Usage

The COVID-19 pandemic shows a major impact on the travel behavior of individuals. Both the fear of infection and political measures lead to a significant decline in the overall travel demand and a modal shift from public transport to individual means of transport. Thus, the car plays a more significant role since the outbreak of the pandemic. To understand the effects on car usage, this study analyzes the car usage before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 in Germany. To identify changes in car mileage, we combine two surveys of the German Mobility Panel: The survey on everyday mobility and the survey on fuel consumption and odometer reading. We develop a method to combine both data sources and explain the mileage differences between them consistently. Based on this, we compare the mileage captured in 2019 and 2020 and identify which types of households in- or decreased their car usage. The results show that most households reduced their mileage. However, differences were found primarily among commuters and urban residents. While many commuters reduced their mileage due to working from home, some urban residents increased their mileage. ... mehrThis can be attributed to mode shifts towards individual means of transport. Overall, it becomes evident that examining identical households and cars before and during the pandemic allows for a deeper understanding of the impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic.