Assessing the impacts of COVID-19 on activity-travel scheduling: A survey in the greater Toronto area

The COVID-19 lockdown provided many individuals an opportunity to explore changes in their daily routines, particularly when considered in combination with an ever-changing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) landscape. These new routines and alternative activities have the potential to be continued in the post-COVID era. Transportation planners must understand how routines vary to effectively estimate activity-travel scheduling. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on activity-travel behavior and the adoption of ICT-based alternative options. A special emphasis is placed on predicting the long-term effects of this disturbance on activity-travel scheduling. This study examines the changes in the frequency and mode of completing five of the most repetitious tasks in the daily schedule (working, grocery and non-grocery shopping, preparing/eating meals, and visiting family/friends) during the lockdown and immediately after reopening. We find an increased preference for home meal preparation over online ordering and a reluctance to engage in in-person shopping until a substantial proportion of the population has acquired a vaccination against the virus. Respondents prefer to work from home if they have adequate access to home office materials (e.g., desk, chair, computer monitor). Individuals with children must also consider suitable childcare before considering a return to work.