Lockdowns and Lags: Lessons from the effect of COVID-19 on the Perth transportation system

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed travel demand throughout the world as cities are locked down and new ways of working have been adopted to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
While Perth and Australia more generally have fared better than most places around the world, changes in mode choice and demand have been observed within Perth from traffic count and smartcard usage data. This has been especially notable during ‘lockdown’ periods where residents were required to stay home. More importantly, over the year since the pandemic has begun, the “between lockdown” periods offer unique insights into possible longer term effects which could be perpetuated into the future, with ongoing consequences for deferring or avoiding the need for transport system infrastructure. While previous studies have reported on overall changes in vehicle traffic and public transport volumes across cities as a whole, this study considers spatial trends for different parts of the city in order to differentiate changes in travel to and from the city centre from cross-city travel in inner and outer suburbs of differing types. This has been gleaned from various traffic counting sites throughout Perth alongside an analysis over time of the public transport smart card boardings and alightings between ‘catchment areas’ for various lines throughout Perth. Indications are that recovery is quicker for shorter lockdowns and to higher levels within inner-city areas with spatial differences suggesting changes in recovery depend also on socio-economic context.