North Carolina Department of Transportation
Research & Innovation Summit – 2021

Spatio Temporal Impact of COVID 19 on Demand Response Transit In Northeastern North Carolina

Authors: Trung Tran, Burcu Adivar, Kai Monast, Jeremy Scott
Fayetteville State University, NC State University
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Introduction

  • Transportation barriers lead to poor health outcomes and reduce economic opportunities for North Carolinians, especially in underserved areas with few transportation options such as small cities and rural areas.
  • Lack of physical access to healthcare causes delayed or missed appointments resulting in delayed diagnosis, foregone preventive care, and excess use of emergency departments.
  • Lack of physical access to quality jobs and workforce training reduces economic opportunities.
  • The COVID 19 pandemic caused great disruption in travel and mobility, especially for those who rely on public transportation to access essential services.
  • Exploring the spatio temporal patterns of pick up/drop off locations and travel trajectories between those locations before and during the COVID 19 pandemic becomes essential to better understand the rider’s needs as well as the efficiency of provided services to recommend service improvements where necessary.