A prospective study of the impact of COVID-19-related restrictions on activities and mobility upon physical activity, travel behaviour and attitudes

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Public health measures adopted to contain the spread of COVID-19 included restrictions on activities and mobility as people were asked to stay at home and schools moved to online learning. This may have increased risk of non-communicable disease by limiting recreational and transport-related physical activity. Building on an existing study, we assessed changes in self-reported and device-measured physical activity and travel behaviour before, during and after the peak of local COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions (March–July 2020). We examined beliefs in effectiveness of strategies to increase active and public transport after restrictions were reduced. METHODS: A longitudinal study of adult infrequent bus users (average ≤ 2 trips per week; n = 70; 67% women) in Hobart, Australia. One-week assessment periods at four separate timepoints (before, during, 0–3 months after, and 3–6 months after the peak restrictions period) involved wearing an accelerometer, daily transport diaries, online surveys and tracking bus smartcard boardings. RESULTS: Physical activity (especially among older participants), bus use and private motor vehicle use declined significantly during or 0–3 months after the peak restrictions period and returned to pre-restrictions levels by 3–6 months after the peak restrictions period, except bus use which remained significantly lower. Retrospective surveys overstated declines in bus use and active transport and self-reports understated declines in physical activity. Social distancing and improving service efficiency and frequency were seen as effective strategies for increasing bus use after restrictions but belief in effectiveness of distancing decreased over time. CONCLUSIONS: When restrictions on mobility are increased, supportive health promotion measures are needed to prevent declines in physical activity, particularly for older adults. Public transport systems need capacity to implement temporary distancing measures to prevent communicable disease transmission. Providing convenient, flexible, and efficient options for public transport may help to replenish public transport use after restrictions are reduced.