Public Transport during the Covid-19 Pandemic Public Transport and Sustainable Mobility (original) (raw)
Related papers
Risk of COVID-19 Infection in Public Transportation: The Development of a Model
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
South Korea’s social distancing policies on public transportation only involve mandatory wearing of masks and prohibition of food intake, similar to policies on other indoor spaces. This is not because public transportation is safe from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but because no suitable policies based on accurate data have been implemented. To relieve fears regarding contracting COVID-19 infection through public transportation, the government should provide accurate information and take appropriate measures to lower the risk of COVID-19. This study aimed to develop a model for determining the risk of COVID-19 infection on public transportation considering exposure time, mask efficiency, ventilation rate, and distance. The risk of COVID-19 infection on public transportation was estimated, and the effectiveness of measures to reduce the risk was assessed. The correlation between the risk of infection and various factors was identified through sensitivity analysis of major fa...
South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde, 2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous countries worldwide declared national states of emergency and implemented interventions to minimise the risk of transmission among the public. Evidence was needed to inform strategies for limiting COVID-19 transmission on public transport. On 20 March 2020, we searched MEDLINE, CENTRAL, Web of Science and the World Health Organization's database of 'Global research on coronavirus disease (COVID-19)' to conduct a rapid review on interventions that reduce viral transmission on public ground transport. After screening 74 records, we identified 4 eligible studies. These studies suggest an increased risk of viral transmission with public transportation use that may be reduced with improved ventilation. International and national guidelines suggest the following strategies: keep the public informed, stay at home when sick, and minimise public transport use. Where use is unavoidable, environmental control, respiratory etiquette and...
Is public transport a risk factor for acute respiratory infection?
BMC Infectious …, 2011
The relationship between public transport use and acquisition of acute respiratory infection (ARI) is not well understood but potentially important during epidemics and pandemics. Methods: A case-control study performed during the 2008/09 influenza season. Cases (n = 72) consulted a General Practitioner with ARI, and controls with another non-respiratory acute condition (n = 66). Data were obtained on bus or tram usage in the five days preceding illness onset (cases) or the five days before consultation (controls) alongside demographic details. Multiple logistic regression modelling was used to investigate the association between bus or tram use and ARI, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Recent bus or tram use within five days of symptom onset was associated with an almost six-fold increased risk of consulting for ARI (adjusted OR = 5.94 95% CI 1.33-26.5). The risk of ARI appeared to be modified according to the degree of habitual bus and tram use, but this was not statistically significant (1-3 times/week: adjusted OR = 0.54 (95% CI 0.15-1.95; >3 times/week: 0.37 (95% CI 0.13-1.06). Conclusions: We found a statistically significant association between ARI and bus or tram use in the five days before symptom onset. The risk appeared greatest among occasional bus or tram users, but this trend was not statistically significant. However, these data are plausible in relation to the greater likelihood of developing protective antibodies to common respiratory viruses if repeatedly exposed. The findings have differing implications for the control of seasonal acute respiratory infections and for pandemic influenza.
PLOS ONE, 2020
One important concern around the spread of respiratory infectious diseases has been the contribution of public transportation, a space where people are in close contact with one another and with high-use surfaces. While disease clearly spreads along transportation routes, there is limited evidence about whether public transportation use itself is associated with the overall prevalence of contagious respiratory illnesses at the local level. We examine the extent of the association between public transportation and influenza mortality, a proxy for disease prevalence, using city-level data on influenza and pneumonia mortality and public transit use from 121 large cities in the United States (US) between 2006 and 2015. We find no evidence of a positive relationship between city-level transit ridership and influenza/pneumonia mortality rates, suggesting that population level rates of transit use are not a singularly important factor in the transmission of influenza.
Safety of Urban Transport Users During the Covid-19 Pandemic
European Research Studies Journal, 2020
Purpose: The article investigates issues related to the safety of transport users commuting in urbanized areas using buses, trams, subway, vehicle sharing systems, taxicabs, or ride-sourcing/ridesharing apps during the Covid-19 pandemic. Design/Methodology/Approach: The author surveyed city residents to identify their current transport safety-related preferences. Based on this survey results, the preferences identified were correlated with the actual measures undertaken by carriers to prevent virus transmission. Findings: A detailed analysis has revealed that the measures that have been implemented not always correspond with expectations of transport users or even with actual needs arising from the current epidemiological situation. Practical Implications: The analysis serves as a basis for evaluating the validity of guidelines and assessing the new safety standards developed by local authorities to protect the life and health of transport users. These standards could be maintained should subsequent waves of Covid-19 infections be experienced. They could also be implemented again if threats posed by other virus types need to be faced in the future. Originality/value: The author compared both expected and actually implemented solutions with their effectiveness parameters, based on experimental results and foreign literature.
Transactions on Transport Sciences
There is a current discourse on how COVID-19 will impact future use of public services by people. At the time of writing this paper, most countries around the globe had relaxed safety protocol enforcement. This may change individual use of public transport, and policy implementations. The study mainly used Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) to examine the use of public transport ridership after the relaxation of COVID-19 safety protocol enforcement. A survey was used to collect data from 1692 respondents across Ghana partly online and partly face-to-face interviews from April 20 th , 2022 to June 5 th , 2022. The preliminary findings show that the use of private cars declined during the enforcement of safety protocols. However, after relaxation of safety protocol enforcement, the use of private transport increased more than public transport. The Relative Importance Index revealed that 'facemask wearing covering both nose and mouth', 'reduction in the number of occupants per vehicle', 'the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer', and 'vehicles cleaned after every trip' were the most important safety protocols perceived to prevent infection of the virus. However, the MLR model shows that largely, relaxation of mandatory facemask wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene, and disinfection of transport could decrease public transport ridership. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 infection anxiety had not faded and could decrease public transport ridership. To relieve the anxiety regarding virus infection through the use of public transportation, the government needs to take appropriate measures to lower the perceived risk of infection.
Transactions on Transport Sciences
There is a current discourse on how COVID-19 will impact future use of public services by people. At the time of writing this paper, most countries around the globe had relaxed safety protocol enforcement. This may change individual use of public transport, and policy implementations. The study mainly used Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) to examine the use of public transport ridership after the relaxation of COVID-19 safety protocol enforcement. A survey was used to collect data from 1692 respondents across Ghana partly online and partly face-to-face interviews from April 20 th , 2022 to June 5 th , 2022. The preliminary findings show that the use of private cars declined during the enforcement of safety protocols. However, after relaxation of safety protocol enforcement, the use of private transport increased more than public transport. The Relative Importance Index revealed that 'facemask wearing covering both nose and mouth', 'reduction in the number of occupants per vehicle', 'the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer', and 'vehicles cleaned after every trip' were the most important safety protocols perceived to prevent infection of the virus. However, the MLR model shows that largely, relaxation of mandatory facemask wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene, and disinfection of transport could decrease public transport ridership. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 infection anxiety had not faded and could decrease public transport ridership. To relieve the anxiety regarding virus infection through the use of public transportation, the government needs to take appropriate measures to lower the perceived risk of infection.
Public Transportation Strategy in Response to Covid-19
Journal of Social Research
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on public transportation worldwide. At the beginning of the pandemic, public transportation systems reduced their performance by 80-90% in major cities in China, Iran, and the United States, and by 70% in the UK, including a significant decline in Indonesia. Several studies have shown that public transportation contributes significantly to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This study aims to review the use of public transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A systematic review using the PRISMA guidelines was conducted on literature published between 2020-2023 with inclusion criteria of national and international research articles in English related to the title "Public Transportation Strategy in Response to COVID-19". The database sources used were Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Results: Based on the literature review, it is concluded that efforts to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in public transp...
COVID-19 and public transport: an overview and recommendations applicable to Latin America
Infectio
The article presents a general overview on COVID-19 transmission in the context of public transport, particularly applicable to decision making in Latin America. Based on recent findings on COVID-19 transmission and the relative importance of each factor (droplets, fomites, and aerosol routes) in such transmission, we seek to update the discussion on the topic that has generally been based on social distance as the only parameter for reducing the risk of transmission and broadens the vision to integrate ventilation, users' behavior (mask and eye protection use, silence while in the transport system) and travel distance. Recommendations to improve mobility conditions reducing the risk of COVID-19 contagion are provided. COVID-19 y transporte público: una revisión y recomendaciones aplicables a América Latina Resumen El artículo presenta una revisión de transmisión de COVID-19 en el contexto de transporte público, con aplicación particular para toma de decisiones en América Latina. Con base en los hallazgos recientes sobre transmisión de Covid-19 y la importancia relativa de cada factor (gotículas, fómites y rutas de aerosoles) en dicha transmisión, buscamos actualizar la discusión sobre el tema que generalmente se ha basado en la "distancia social" como parámetro único de reducción de riesgo de transmisión y amplía esta visión para integrar la ventilación, el comportamiento de usuarios (uso de mascarilla, protección ocular, silencio), y la distancia de viaje. Se indican al final recomendaciones para mejorar las condiciones de movilidad en general sin aumentar el riesgo de contagio de Covid-19.