Journal of Korean Society of Transportation ISSN:1229-1366(Print) 2234-4217(Online) 대한교통학회지

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes across various sectors of our society. In particular, measures such as mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing have led to substantial reductions in traffic volume, while at the same time, dramatic increases in demands in food delivery orders. The changes in travel patterns have raised concerns regarding an increase in motorbike-related crashes. However, a limited number of studies have paid attention to the correlation between the increasing demand for food delivery services and motorbike crashes. This study aims to explore the impact of increased food delivery demands on motorbike crashes after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. A negative binomial regression model was employed to analyze factors that influence motorbike crash frequency in the cities of Bucheon, Uijeongbu, and Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi Province. Our findings suggest that there was either a marginal difference or a decreasing trend in motorbike crashes after COVID-19, despite the concurrent increase in food delivery demand. This is mainly due to the reduced traffic volume, leading to a lower likelihood of motorbike-related crashes. Also, older adults, who typically use motorbike as their daily travel mode, have substantially reduced outdoor activities during the COVID-19. Even if the number of crahses caused by food delivery motorbike has increased, the reduced crash counts in the elderly group outweighs the increased crashes in the number of food delivery motorbikes.