Public transit agencies face a transformed landscape of rider demand and political support as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. We explore people’s motivations for returning to or avoiding public transit a year into the pandemic. We draw on a March 2021 follow-up survey of over 1,900 people who rode transit regularly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, and who took part in a prior survey on the topic in May 2020. We investigate how transit demand changes associated with the pandemic relate to changes in automobile ownership and its desirability. We find that pre-COVID frequent transit users between the ages of 18–29, a part of the so-called “Gen Z,” and recent immigrants are more attracted to driving due to the pandemic, with the latter group more likely to have actually purchased a vehicle. Getting COVID-19 or living with someone who did is also a strong and positive predictor of buying a car and anticipating less transit use after the pandemic. Our results suggest that COVID-19 may have increased the attractiveness of auto ownership among transit riders likely to eventually purchase cars anyway (immigrants, twentysomethings), at least in the North American context. We also conclude that getting COVID-19 or living with someone who did is a positive predictor of having bought a car. Future research should consider how having COVID-19 transformed some travelers’ views, values, and behaviour.

随着 COVID-19 大流行的消退，公共交通机构面临着乘客需求和政治支持的变化。我们探讨了人们在疫情爆发一年后返回或避免乘坐公共交通的动机。我们根据 2021 年 3 月对加拿大多伦多和温哥华的 1,900 多名在 COVID-19 大流行之前定期乘坐公共交通的人进行的跟踪调查，以及参加过 2020 年 5 月有关该主题的先前调查的人。我们调查了如何与大流行相关的交通需求变化与汽车拥有量及其需求的变化有关。我们发现，新冠疫情爆发前，18 至 29 岁之间的频繁交通使用者（即所谓的“Z 世代”）和新移民因疫情而更倾向于开车，而后者更有可能实际购买了一辆车。感染新冠病毒 (COVID-19) 或与感染新冠病毒 (COVID-19) 的人住在一起也是购买汽车和预计大流行后交通使用量减少的强烈且积极的预测因素。我们的结果表明，COVID-19 可能增加了对最终可能购买汽车的公交乘客（移民、二十多岁的人）拥有汽车的吸引力，至少在北美地区是这样。我们还得出结论，感染新冠病毒 (COVID-19) 或与感染新冠病毒 (COVID-19) 的人住在一起是购买汽车的积极预测因素。未来的研究应该考虑 COVID-19 如何改变一些旅行者的观点、价值观和行为。