Variou s measures, recommended or imposed by the Government of Bangladesh to control the spread of COVID -19, impacted the travel behavior of the urban travelers significantly. Showcasing high impacts while the lockdowns in place, similar research suggested that t he effects of such will impact mode choice behavior significantly in a period after lockdowns as people blend in with new normalcy. This study aimed at examining the changes that occurred in travel and mode choice behavior after the repealing of lockdowns and models the change in the factors that affect mode choice. Data were collected through an online questionnaire survey, limited to Dhaka Metropolitan Area and dispersed through social media ad campaign, which included questions on trip purpose, mode choi ce, distance traveled, and frequency of trips before and after COVID -19 lockdowns. Two hundred and ninety -five responses were collected from the survey which were analyzed through non -parametric and parametric analysis to compare between pre -lockdown and p ost-lockdown periods. Results explained that trip purpose, mode choice, cost of trip, frequency of trips and importance imparted on various Levels of Service (LOS) factors for the primary travel were significantly different before and after the lockdown. There was a significant shift from public transport to private transport and non -motorized modes while people placed a higher priority on the pandemic related concerns while choosing a mode during the pandemic as compared to the general concerns or trip attributes. Importance imparted on various vehicle characteristics, trip attributes and safety related attributes shifted significantly as travelers preferred shorter distance, shorter time and cost -efficient modes in pre -lockdown time, while preferring sa fer, higher cost, less distance and crowding to be more important factors in the new normal situation. Significant changes in factors affecting mode choice were observed, as household income, employment status and safety & distancing in vehicle impacted tr avelers to shift from public transport to private vehicles and non -motorized vehicles. Government authorities could utilize such knowledge for planning smart and partial lockdowns in the event of future lockdowns and also, utilize the knowledge in making the new public transportation systems to match users’ needs. Keywords: COVID -19 Pandemic , Trave l Behavior, Mode Choice Modelling, Multinomial Logit Models , Interacti on Variables and Analysis iv TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... vii LIST OF TABLES ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... viii ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 1 INTRODUCTION ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 1 1.1 Overview ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 1 1.2 Overall Transport Scenario during COVID -19 ................................ ............... 1 1.3 Motivation of the Research ................................ ................................ ............. 3 1.4 Research Objectives ................................ ................................ ........................ 5 1.5 Scope & Outcomes ................................ ................................ .......................... 5 1.6 Organization of the thesis ................................ ................................ ................ 6 ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 7 Literature Review ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 7 2.1 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 7 2.2 Disaggregate Mode Choice Analysis ................................ .............................. 7 2.3 Individual Mode Choice Behavior and Decision Rule ................................ .... 7 2.4 Discrete Choice Theory ................................ ................................ ................... 8 2.5 Probabilistic Choice Theory ................................ ................................ ............ 9 2.6 Factors Influencing the Choice of Mode ................................ ......................... 9 2.7 Previous research on mode selection in the context of COVID 19 pandemic 11 2.8 Random Utility Theory ................................ ................................ .................. 14 2.9 Random Utility Models ................................ ................................ ................. 15 2.10 Logistic Regression Model ................................ ................................ ............ 15 2.10.1 Explanatory variables: ................................ ................................ ........ 16 2.10.2 Outcome variables: ................................ ................................ ............. 17 2.10.3 Multinomial Logistic Regression: ................................ ...................... 17 2.11 Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test ................................ ................................ .......... 19 2.11.1 Test Procedure ................................ ................................ .................... 19 2.11.2 Computing the null distribution ................................ .......................... 20 2.12 McNemar’s test ................................ ................................ ............................. 23 2.12.1 Definition ................................ ................................ ............................ 23 2.12.2 Variations ................................ ................................ ............................ 24 2.13 Exploratory factor analysis ................................ ................................ ............ 25 2.13.1 Fitting procedures ................................ ................................ ............... 26 2.13.2 Maximum likelihood ................................ ................................ .......... 26 2.13.3 Principal axis factoring ................................ ................................ ....... 27 2.13.4 Factor Structure (Sphericity and KMO) ................................ ............. 27 v 2.14 Models for Dhaka City's Mode Choice ................................ ......................... 27 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 31 Methodology ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 31 3.1 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 31 3.2 Methodology Overview ................................ ................................ ................. 31 3.3 Literature Review ................................ ................................ .......................... 32 3.4 Concept Development and Formulation of Objectives ................................ . 32 3.5 Survey Design ................................ ................................ ............................... 32 3.6 Data Collection ................................ ................................ .............................. 34 3.7 Data Preparation ................................ ................................ ............................ 35 3.7.1 Data Preparation for Descriptive Analysis ................................ ......... 36 3.7.2 Data Preparation for Exploratory Factor Analysis ............................. 36 3.7.3 Data Preparation for Calibration of Multinomial Logit Model .......... 37 3.8 Data Analysis ................................ ................................ ................................ . 39 3.8.1 Descriptive Analysis ................................ ................................ ........... 39 3.8.2 Exploratory Factor Analysis ................................ ............................... 40 3.8.3 Estimation Multinomial Logit Model ................................ ................. 41 3.9 Comparative Analysis Between Models ................................ ....................... 41 3.10 Summary ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 45 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 46 Changes in Travel and Mode Choice Behavior ................................ ........................... 46 4.1 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 46 4.2 Socio -economic demographics of the respondents ................................ ....... 46 4.3 Shift in Mode Choice by Socio -Demographic Characteristics ...................... 48 4.3.1 Gender ................................ ................................ ................................ . 48 4.3.2 Age ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 48 4.3.3 Income ................................ ................................ ................................ 50 4.3.4 Education ................................ ................................ ............................ 51 4.3.5 Occupation ................................ ................................ .......................... 53 4.3.6 Type Of Residence ................................ ................................ ............. 55 4.3.7 Place Owning ................................ ................................ ...................... 57 4.4 Factors Affecting the Mode Choice Decision of the travelers ...................... 57 4.5 Shift in Travel Purpose Before and After Lockdown ................................ .... 60 4.6 Non-commuting Trip Frequency ................................ ................................ ... 62 4.7 Preferred Modes ................................ ................................ ............................ 62 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 64 Modeling Mode Choice and Analysis ................................ ................................ .......... 64 5.1 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 64 5.2 Available Modes ................................ ................................ ............................ 64 5.3 Dimensionality Reduction for High Correlation ................................ ........... 65 5.3.1 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) ................................ .................... 67 5.4 Rationale for Selection of Variables/Hypothesis ................................ .......... 68 5.4.1 Statistical Significance ................................ ................................ ........ 70 5.4.2 Goodness of Fit Statistics ................................ ................................ ... 70 5.4.3 Interpretation of Parameter Estimates ................................ ................ 71 5.5 Mode Choice Model Before Lockdowns ................................ ...................... 71 5.5.1 Model Specification ................................ ................................ ............ 71 vi 5.5.2 Interpretation of Parameter Estimates ................................ ................ 74 5.6 Mode Choice Model After Lockdowns ................................ ......................... 75 5.6.1 Model Specification ................................ ................................ ............ 76 5.6.2 Interpretation of Parameter Estimates ................................ ................ 78 5.7 Comparative Analysis of Interaction Between Pre and Post Lockdown Models 80 5.7.1 Model Specification ................................ ................................ ............ 80 5.7.2 Interpretation of Parameter Estimates ................................ ................ 83 5.8 Summary ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 87 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 88 Results and Discussion ................................ ................................ ................................ 88 6.1 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 88 6.2 Changes in the Travel & Mode Choice Behavior ................................ ......... 88 6.2.1 Modal Shift ................................ ................................ ......................... 88 6.2.2 Trip Characteristics ................................ ................................ ............. 90 6.2.3 Importance Imparted on Various Levels of Service (LOS) and Trip Characteristics ................................ ................................ ............................... 92 6.3 Changes in the Impact of Mode Choice Factors ................................ ........... 94 6.4 Discussion ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 97 6.4.1 Private Vehicles (PV) in Post -Lockdown ................................ ........... 97 6.4.2 Non-Motorized Vehicles (NMV) in Post -Lockdown ....................... 100 6.5 Summary ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 103 ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 104 Conclusions and Future Works ................................ ................................ .................. 104 7.1 Concluding Remarks ................................ ................................ ................... 104 7.2 Research Contribution ................................ ................................ ................. 105 7.3 Recommen dation ................................ ................................ ......................... 106 7.4 Limitations & Future Research ................................ ................................ ... 106