Analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on the performance of Texas transit agencies

Abstract

The rapid nature of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in limited real-time understanding of the true impacts of COVID-19 on transit and the actions taken by transit agencies to respond to the conditions and support their riders. To collect empirical information on the impacts and actions associated with transit’s response to COVID 19, we conducted a survey on transit agencies in Texas designed to provide a better, quantifiable picture of transit realities during the early stages of the pandemic. This paper presents the findings derived from a full analysis of the survey data, highlighting important takeaways, and shares the result of follow up study from three focused case studies that present deeper insight into some transit agencies’ responses to these impacts, and specific policy implications that transit may experience during or after the pandemic. Survey findings showed that about 65 percent of the respondents did not have a plan for dealing with a pandemic prior to COVID-19. The cost of cleaning (both labor and supplies) hit large urban agencies and metropolitan transit authorities particularly hard. Among the lessons learned from the case studies, we found that agencies are inclined to retain employees through the pandemic and resulting downturn in ridership, with cuts in hours and allowance to work at home where possible, rather than laying off staff and later having to recruit, hire, and train the staff buildup when pre-pandemic ridership levels resume. We also suggest specific policies in four areas of revenue levels, equitable transit access, transit and employment.