Congestion impacts of shopping using vehicle tracking data

Abstract

Shopping and retail trade play an important role in the economy, yet shopping activities and associated on-street parking and disruptions to traffic could substantially contribute to congestion in the megacities of the developing and emerging countries. This research investigates and quantifies the effects of shopping and related roadside frictions and disruptions on congestion in a city. We make use of minute by minute GPS tracking data of vehicles and a unique policy of different shopping closure days in different areas of the city, which allows the separation of shopping related congestion effects from commute and other effects. Results show that average speed increased by 18.5% on weekdays when shopping centres were closed. The differences in speed in the different zones can also be qualitatively related with the density of shopping centres in those zones.

Reactivating commuter cycling: COVID-19 pandemic disruption to everyday transport choices in Sydney, Australia

“…Mobility disruption is a longstanding feature in transport geographies. Previous accounts of disruption include the modelling of transport infrastructure for planned maintenance ( Younes et al, 2019 ), on-street parking congestion ( Wadud and Chen, 2018 ), or transport link failures ( Cats, 2016 ). Equally, modelling has been used to analyse the impacts on travel behaviour of events ( Rose, 2007 ), natural disasters ( Yonson et al, 2020 ), labour conflict/strikes ( Gonzalez-Aregall and Bergqvist, 2019 ), new technologies ( Meyer and Shaheen, 2017 ) and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic ( Beck et al, 2020 ; Borkowski et al, 2021 ).…”

Analysis of Changes in In-Store and Online Shopping Frequencies Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study from Bahrain

“…Shopping trips are considered one of society's most essential non-working activities. However, outdoor shopping trips can lead to increased congestion in city centers, resulting in higher fuel consumption and emissions [1]. The impact of shopping trips on road traffic congestion is even more pronounced on weekends and during holidays [2].…”