The COVID-19 Impacts on Mobility Behavior in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Country

The COVID-19 has forced people to rethink the interrelationships between public health, urban environment and transportation. Past studies have attempted to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 on individuals’ mobility. Nevertheless, relevant strategies for the urban adaptation and resilience strategies to cope up with the post pandemic situation have not been explored yet in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Therefore, this study examines the changes in the urban mobility—trip frequencies by mode and purpose during the different severity periods of COVID-19 in the UAE. To draw strategies for the post pandemic transport management, the study tries to quantify the effects of participants’ personal and perceived features on the change in mobility behavior as the severity of the COVID-19 changes. To achieve this objective, data are gathered through a comprehensive web-based questionnaire, yielding 1,964 responses. The data are analyzed via descriptive analyses and random parameter bivariate probit model. The results indicate a shift in the individuals’ mobility behavior during the three COVID-19 periods (before the peak, during the peak, and after the peak). More importantly, the individuals’ mobility reduced substantially during the during the peak period and recovered back to normal after the during the peak. Moreover, there exists a significant relationship between the respondents’ personal and perceived features and the change in mobility as the COVID-19 severity changes from before the peak to during the peak and from during the peak to after the peak. This study underscores the crucial role of integrating public health insights with urban and transportation planning to enhance the resilience and adaptability of cities in the face of future pandemic.