We document the magnitudes of and mechanisms behind socioeconomic differences in travel behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on King County, Washington, one of the first places in North America where COVID-19 was detected. We leverage novel and rich administrative and survey data on travel volumes, modes, and preferences for different demographic groups. Large average declines in travel and public transit use due to the pandemic and related policy responses mask substantial heterogeneity across socioeconomic groups. Travel declined considerably less among less-educated and lower-income individuals, even after accounting for mode substitution and variation across neighborhoods in the impacts of public transit service reductions. As policy became less restrictive and travel increased, the size of the socioeconomic gap in travel behavior remained stable, and remote work capabilities became increasingly important in explaining this gap. Our results imply that disparities in travel behavior across socioeconomic groups may become an enduring feature of the urban landscape.

中文翻译：

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了解 COVID-19 大流行期间旅行行为的社会经济差异

我们记录了 COVID-19 大流行期间旅行行为的社会经济差异背后的程度和机制。我们专注于华盛顿金县，这是北美最早检测到 COVID-19 的地方之一。我们利用关于不同人口群体的旅行量、模式和偏好的新颖而丰富的管理和调查数据。由于大流行和相关政策反应，旅行和公共交通使用的平均大幅下降掩盖了社会经济群体之间的巨大异质性。即使在考虑到公共交通服务减少影响的模式替代和社区之间的差异之后，受教育程度较低和收入较低的个人的旅行下降幅度也要小得多。随着政策限制减少和旅行增加，旅行行为中社会经济差距的规模保持稳定，远程工作能力在解释这一差距方面变得越来越重要。我们的研究结果表明，不同社会经济群体的旅行行为差异可能成为城市景观的一个持久特征。