A STUDY ON CONSUMER PREFERENCE TOWARDS PRIVATE OVER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION POST PANDEMIC WITH REFERENCE TO COIMBATORE DISTRICT

The COVID-19 crisis has meant a significant change in the lifestyle of millions of people worldwide.With a lockdown that lasted months and an impulse to new normality, transport demand has suffered a considerable impact in the world.It is mandatory to explore the effect of the pandemic on changes in travel behavior in post-COVID-19 times.This paper presents research examining a model of consumer transportation behavior which integrates system characteristics, perceptions, preference, choice and situational constraints.The research findings are used to develop and evaluate strategies designed to increase consumer acceptance of public transportation.Also, Public transit has particularly been vulnerable to disruption and shocks from pandemics due to the collective nature of its mobility.One of the biggest impacts has been the reduction in passenger transport demand, due to a combination of government lockdowns and fears of contracting and spreading the virus when using mass transport modes.In contrast, passenger transport, (for both leisure and business travel) is often optional, and more influenced by people's decision-making processes.The focus of this paper is therefore on Preference Towards Private Transportation Over Public Transportation.The study was done by descriptive sampling technique; passengers who commute daily are selected as the sample.The primary data has been collected by means of questionnaire.The secondary data has been collected by published records, books, research reports, documents and websites etc. a structured questionnaire has been given to 106 users and data was collected from the same base.