Abstract
Public transport use has drastically declined during the COVID-19 pandemic because the virus spreads through close contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces, especially in closed-environments. Evidence suggests that following the necessary safety guidelines can limit the spread of the virus, however, non-compliance to precautionary measures has been reported widely. Ignoring the precautionary measures may lead to quick transmission of the virus since public transport vehicles generally resemble closed-environments. This study explores people’s intentions to use public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic while adhering to precautionary measures. For this purpose, a total of 1516 useable responses were collected through a questionnaire survey conducted in Lahore, Pakistan. Regression models were developed to model the intentions to use public transport during the pandemic, to adhere to the precautionary measures while using public transport during the pandemic, and to use public transport while suffering from COVID-19 disease. The results of this study will help in understanding the intentions of the public transport users during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also provide insights for policymakers and public transport operators about further necessary actions to promote safe public transport use during the current and any possible future pandemics. As public transport use declined during the pandemic, policy implications for alternative mobility options such as demand-responsive-transport (DRT) are also presented. Considering the study results, a policy interventions framework is proposed to promote the safe use of various public transport modes, particularly in developing regions.
Highlights
The outbreak of COVID-19, which started in December of 2019 and spread rapidly around the globe, has severely affected public transport because it spreads through close contact, especially inside confined environments
The results indicated that awareness and the ascription of responsibility had no significant effect on public transport use while experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
The models developed in this study suggest that certain segments of the society may reduce the use of public transport due to either the pandemic, the necessity to follow the precautionary measures or the COVID-19 symptoms
Summary
The outbreak of COVID-19 (a disease caused by the novel coronavirus), which started in December of 2019 and spread rapidly around the globe, has severely affected public transport because it spreads through close contact, especially inside confined environments.The World Health Organization (WHO) declared this disease as a global pandemic in March2020 [1]. The outbreak of COVID-19 (a disease caused by the novel coronavirus), which started in December of 2019 and spread rapidly around the globe, has severely affected public transport because it spreads through close contact, especially inside confined environments. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared this disease as a global pandemic in March. At present (10 March 2021), a total of 116,874,912 people has been affected by this disease with 2,597,381 deaths [1]. In Pakistan, confirmed cases of COVID-19 are 595,239 and 13,324 people have died as of 10 March 2021 [2]. Several governments around the world imposed lockdowns to restrict the movement of people. The government of Pakistan imposed the first lockdown on 1
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