Personal travel has increased daily since April 15, top federal researchers said May 6 on a webinar hosted by the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA).
In 78 metropolitan areas, personal travel has increased 10 percent or more from the peak reduction, said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, deputy assistant secretary for Research & Technology at US Department of Transportation, and two researcher colleagues at US-DOT.
Passenger vehicles account for 75 percent of overall transportation, and that share is likely to increase when the pandemic recedes, Furchtgott-Roth said.
Short-term trips
After the 2008 recession, tourism increased within a few hundred miles of major metro areas. Economic downturns, the federal officials said, shift long-distance discretionary trips from airline-based to private-vehicle trips.
The US Department of Transportation expects some shifting of modes of travel in the near future, such as long-distance air, train, or bus trips to personal-vehicle trips.
Furchtgott-Roth cited INRIX data and US-DOT statistics.
Click here to access the May 6 OAAA webinar.
Modified: 2 years