The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on travel behaviour in Türkiye

The COVID-19 virus, which was detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019, quickly affected the whole world. Many measures were taken to reduce the spread of the pandemic and it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. As a result of the very strong spread of the virus, which negatively affects all humanity, it was reported in 210 countries in less than 5 months. In the behavior of people in the daily life of the pandemic; It has caused many changes in areas such as harboring, communication, health, food and transportation. With the rapid spread of urbanization around the world, transportation has become a necessary service for economic, social and cultural activities. Transportation behavior is one of the most changing behaviors due to the epidemic. The basis for this is the principle of minimizing mobility in order to reduce the spread. Countries that have closed their borders have taken measures such as lockdown, remote working, distance learning, flexible working hours and aimed to minimize mobility. In this study, evaluate the change in travel behavior and transportation satisfaction of the Covid-19 epidemic in Türkiye by conducting a survey. The questionnaire created in December 2020 was prepared using Google Forms and distributed over social media platforms. In the field of transportation, which has been reshaped by the epidemic, the changes in the travel behavior of individuals and the parameters affecting their transportation satisfaction have been examined by making a distinction between journeys. In order to determine the change in travel behavior and satisfaction, variables with cause-effect relationships were determined and dependent and independent t tests were applied. As a result of the researches, it was observed that during the epidemic, public transportation users turned to safer systems and the distances of the trips were reduced, as a result of which there was a tendency to environmentally friendly transportation (walking, cycling, e-scooter). It has been revealed that the cost of travel, which is one of the most important parameters in people's transportation, is left to the second plan when it comes to health. Knowing the user behaviors in different periods of the epidemic will make important contributions to the future planning, from the determination of the measures to be taken to the operation of the current system in the most beneficial order. Keywords: Transportation, Covid-19 Outbreak, Travel Behavior Change, Transportation Satisfaction