Changes in travel time ratios (TTR) before and during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Austria

COVID-19 has profoundly affected travel behaviour, and numerous studies have examined its impact on daily activities. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the trade-offs between activity-location choices, associated travel times, and the durations of activities undertaken at those locations. This paper addresses this gap by analysing how long individuals travel to reach different activity destinations and how much time they ultimately spend there, and how this balance varies across trip purposes, journey structures, and socio-demographic groups before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. The analysis draws on two waves of a seven-day travel and time-use diary survey conducted in Austria. Consistent with previous research, the results confirm that both the number of journeys and the frequency of out-of-home activities declined sharply during the lockdown. However, changes in the trade-off between travel time and activity duration were heterogeneous across activity purposes, journey types, and socio-demographic groups. In particular, work-related activities generally exhibited declining Travel Time Ratio (TTR) values, while several discretionary activities showed increases. These differentiated shifts reflect systematic differences in socio-demographic characteristics, activity structures, and journey configurations, indicating that individuals adjusted unevenly to altered capability, authority, and coupling constraints. Overall, the findings suggest that the pandemic reshaped not only the volume of mobility but also the temporal balance between access and participation across population groups.