It could be both. I imagine public transit is something people would try to avoid in a pandemic. When I lived in NYC I always thought about getting a car but it

It could be both. I imagine public transit is something people would try to avoid in a pandemic. When I lived in NYC I always thought about getting a car but it never made sense to spend that money. Bring in COVID and that might have done it. My running theory is that manufacturers and retailers continue to underprice their goods,likely because they expect to eventually return to normal. This ends up effectively hiding inflation. Many buyers have more discretionary cash than usual due to reduced spending from lockdowns. Demand is therefore increased on the things people can and want to buy. Then resellers/scalpers see the margin and buy up inventory to arbitrage. The scarcity compounds.