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This paper investigates how the travel behavior relating to Public Transport (PT) changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and which are the expectations about the extent of PT use post-pandemic. A revealed preferences questionnaire survey was distributed within an academic community in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. To understand the factors potentially determining the future PT use, hierarchical ordered probit and bivariate ordered probit models were estimated. Results showed that the frequent PT users reduced by almost 75% during the pandemic. More than 29% of the local academic community members are reluctant to resume PT use at pre-pandemic levels. Non-captive users, teleworkers and those being unsatisfied with cleanliness and safety are less willing to travelling by PT post-pandemic. Female and under-stress passengers were found to particularly appreciate the use of facemasks and the increased service frequencies as post-pandemic policy measures. The study findings can inform the recovery strategies of transport authorities in order to retain the PT ridership at levels that will not threat the long-term viability of service provision. Future research may complement these findings by examining other population segments, such as the commuters and the elderly, under more advanced modelling techniques to account for additional unobserved behavioral patterns.

Carpooling is a mobility concept that has been showing promising results in reducing single occupancy use of private cars, which prompted many institutions, namely universities, to implement carpooling platforms to improve their networks sustainability. Nowadays, currently under a pandemic crisis, public transportation must be used with limitations regarding the number of occupants to prevent the spread of the virus and commuters are turning even more to private cars to perform their daily trips. Carpooling under a set of precaution rules is a potential solution to help commuters perform their daily trips while respecting COVID-19 safety recommendations. This research aimed to develop an analysis of the road traffic and emission impacts of implementing carpooling, with social distancing measures, in three university campus networks through microscopic traffic simulation modeling and microscopic vehicular exhaust emissions estimation. Results indicate that employing carpooling for groups of up to three people to safely commute from their residence area to the university campus has the potential to significantly reduce pollutant emissions (reductions of 5% and 7% in carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides can be obtained, respectively) within the network while significantly improving road traffic performance (average speed increased by 7% and travel time reduced by 8%).

COVID-19 has forced city governments to reconsider the relationship between mobility, urban space and health in order to ensure physical distancing while meeting the travel needs of inhabitants. Therefore, cities around the world are already involved in the transformation of mobility through new models of sustainable transport. The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on mobility during the COVID outbreak are mostly directed at creating more spaces for cyclists and pedestrians, especially in densely populated urban areas, thus avoiding the overloading of public transport and the use of private cars. Through the analysis of the programs set up by the 10 main Italian metropolitan cities, chosen as a case study, this research evaluates the response implemented by local governments in order to transform urban environments in one of the world’s most pandemic-affected countries in detail. Starting from the current mobility model, this paper focuses on local government policies concerning post-COVID sustainable mobility to understand policies, approaches and measures in depth, as well as the effectiveness of the ongoing actions in shaping future urban mobility. From the research, an almost homogeneous awareness among policy makers and planners emerges concerning the need to rethink urban spaces and mobility, to make up for lost time and to start a green revolution that is aimed at quickly decarbonizing urban transport and enhancing cycling and walking through the city.

The COVID-19 pandemic impeded the regular international student mobility (ISM) and educational exchange across the world. In response, China has witnessed a proliferation of TNHE partnerships formulated as “Internationalization at Home” (IaH), which has seemingly alleviated the immobility of students, faculty, and educational resources within a transnational lens. However, the changing trend of China’s TNHE policies and practices and its impact in the pandemic context have not been systematically studied. To fill this gap, this study longitudinally traces China’s TNHE policies and practices from globalization to post-pandemic glocalization by analyzing policy documents and three cases in the TNHE and pandemic IaH fields. Informed by the concept of global-national-local imbrications, this study tracks the trajectory of China’s TNHE development and clarifies the interconnections among changing policies and practices across different contexts. Our findings can provide reference for the further improvement of TNHE in China and the integration of different TNHE practices into international education in the post-pandemic era. Given the methodological limits of the case-study approach, future research can offer a more comprehensive picture of TNHE in the (post)-pandemic era by collecting data from more sources and contexts.

The international sector of higher education has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as it has interrupted the mobility of students, activities, and academic purposes across the globe. This paper synthesizes the emerging results of 2020 to examine the changes in preferences among international students and institutional long-term policies in South Asia. This case proposes global student mobility as an example of shifting educational preferences, obstacles to e-connectivity, and the need to respond quickly to policy changes. This review synthesizes qualitative research studies and policy reports, identifying four major themes: travel restrictions, online learning, mental health, and hiring practices. It also determines the degree of an institution’s preparedness, depending on the Hybrid learning design and the degree of student support. The study also provides more information about the educational situation in the post-pandemic world, and how the world can generate inclusive, equitable, and resilient globalization in the future.

Background Extensive research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted the daily mobility of older adults. However, very little attention has been paid to the role of individual and built environmental factors in decline in older adults’ daily mobility during the pandemic. Methods Based on a cohort survey of 741 older adults in Hong Kong, we conducted a one-way ANOVA to explore the differences in determinants (individual or environmental factors) of older adults’ daily mobility between before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, multilevel linear regression was performed to examine how individual characteristics and built environment factors are associated with changes in older adults’ daily mobility during the pandemic. Results Results show that the duration of active travel declined from 174.72 to 76.92 min per week, and that the public transport use frequency decreased from an average of 6.14 to 3.96 trips per week during the COVID-19 pandemic (before the rollout of vaccination programme). We also found residential density ( p  < 0.05) and the number of bus stop was negatively associated with the decline in their active travel ( p  < 0.01), while a higher destination mix was associated with more significant decrease in active travel ( p  < 0.01). A higher availability of recreational facilities in neighbourhoods was associated with a greater decrease in public transport use ( p  < 0.05). In addition, those who were older or having depressive symptoms, which are considered a vulnerable group, were negatively associated with decrease in their mobility ( p  < 0.001). Conclusions Maintaining mobility and social interactions are crucial for older adults’ health during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study found that individual and environmental factors differentially affected older adults’ active travel and public transport use during the pandemic. Our findings contribute to understanding the COVID-19 impact on daily mobility in older adults and support more effective active travel promotion policies in the post-pandemic future.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was reported to improve air quality. However, the effects of lockdown on PM₂.₅ and its chemical components based on source-specific characteristics remain unclear. This study evaluated and compared the components of PM₂.₅ across three target sites—Seoul, Ansan–Siheung, and Wonju—based on source distribution patterns during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods. The results revealed that total ion concentrations decreased by 7–19% at the target sites, while trace element concentrations increased by 19–29% in the post-pandemic period. Carbon concentrations showed region-specific trends. Components associated with secondary formation, such as SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, and NH₄⁺, decreased, whereas natural-origin components, such as Cl⁻, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺, increased, indicating enhanced dust resuspension. Furthermore, a positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis demonstrated a predominance of primary emission sources and resuspended dust in the post-pandemic period, with a decline in contributions from secondary formation sources. These regional variations were primarily influenced by the extent of socioeconomic activities, with Seoul exhibiting a higher contribution from primary emissions and suspended dust. This study emphasizes the importance of establishing region-specific air quality improvement policies by scientifically identifying the impacts of anthropogenic activity on PM₂.₅ components and their sources.

While the COVID-19 pandemic upended many aspects of life as we knew it, its effects on U.S. public transit were especially dramatic. Many former transit commuters began to work from home or switched to traveling via private vehicles. But for those who continued to work outside the home and could not drive—who were more likely low-income and Black or Hispanic—transit remained an important means of mobility. However, most transit agencies reduced service during the first year of the pandemic, reflecting reduced ridership demand, increasing costs, and uncertain budgets. To analyze the effects of the pandemic on transit systems and their users, we examine bus ridership changes by neighborhood in Boston, Houston, and Los Angeles from 2019 to 2020. Combining aggregated stop-level boarding data, passenger surveys, and census data, we identify associations between shifting travel patterns and neighborhoods. We find that early in the pandemic, neighborhoods with more poor and non-white households lost proportionally fewer riders; however, this gap between high- and low-ridership-loss neighborhoods shrank as the pandemic wore on. We also model ridership change controlling for multiple factors. Ridership in Houston and LA generally outperformed Boston, with built environment and demographic factors accounting for some of the observed differences. Neighborhoods with high shares of Hispanic and African American residents retained more riders in the pandemic, while those with higher levels of auto access and with more workers able to work from home lost more riders, all else equal. We conclude that transit’s social service role elevated during the pandemic, and that serving travelers in disadvantaged neighborhoods will likely remain paramount emerging from it.

Until recently, many large cities received migration back to their city centres. However, some large cities, including Tokyo, lost in-migration and experienced out-migration from the centre after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to identify the relations between the migration population and socio-geographical characteristics in a large city after the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on a comparison with pre-pandemic relations. Tokyo metropolitan area was used as an example. We obtained annual data from 2019 to 2022 on inter-municipalities migration in Japan and official survey data for socio-geographical features for origin and destination municipalities to create a modified gravity model. The results showed that the variables included in the original gravity model related to migration from and to the Tokyo metropolitan area both before and after the pandemic. This implied that the basic relation of people migrating close to where they lived was consistent before and after the pandemic. However, we found that more people migrated to areas with more green spaces and retail facilities and farther from the central business district (CBD) in 2020, 2021 and 2022 than in 2019, and more people migrated to areas with larger houses in 2021 and 2022 than in 2019. This implies that residential preferences might change after the pandemic and the Tokyo metropolitan area might be affected by the forces of decentralisation and polycentricity.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant shift towards teleworking, resulting in changes in travel patterns. The relationship between teleworking and individual travel behavior is crucial for transportation planning and policymaking. Thereby, this article investigates the relationships between teleworking, COVID-19, and mobility patterns in Brazil during two different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the exceptional nature of recent events, it is crucial to conduct studies related to teleworking during the pandemic crisis to contribute relevant information and evidence to the literature on this phenomenon. Such research has the potential to provide new insights and perspectives that enhance our understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with teleworking. Two different approaches were used in the methodological procedure. The first approach used exploratory analysis to study public aggregated data related to the beginning of the pandemic, followed by a cluster analysis and a multinomial logit model. The second approach, relative to a longer relaxation period of sanitary/health measures, collected disaggregated self-reported data using an online survey, which were analyzed through non-parametric tests. The results show a strong relationship between the teleworking regime and the frequency of trips, especially for work purposes. It also highlights the influence of economic development and the region of Brazil in the kind of work regime. The continuation of studies, such as this one, in current periods is important for analyzing possible impacts, such as the reduction in congestion, vehicle emissions, and to enable the use of teleworking as a demand management policy.