Cities & Health

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COVID-19 and urban public transport services:

emerging challenges and research agenda

Aaron Gutiérrez , Daniel Miravet & Antoni Domènech

To cite this article: Aaron Gutiérrez , Daniel Miravet & Antoni Domènech (2020): COVID-19 and
urban public transport services: emerging challenges and research agenda, Cities & Health, DOI:
10.1080/23748834.2020.1804291

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2020.1804291

Published online: 12 Aug 2020.

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CITIES & HEALTH
https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2020.1804291

COMMENTARY AND DEBATE

COVID-19 and urban public transport services: emerging challenges and

research agenda
a b,c a
Aaron Gutiérrez , Daniel Miravet and Antoni Domènech
a
Department of Geography, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Vila-seca, Spain; bConsortium of Public Transport of Camp de Tarragona, Tarragona,
Spain; cDepartment of Economics, Research Centre on Economics and Sustainability (ECO-SOS), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This article explores the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for public transport. Three Received 18 May 2020
elements are explored. Firstly, the short-term effects, including perceptions of public transport Accepted 28 July 2020
as a vector of virus transmission and shifts towards less-sustainable modes of transport. KEYWORDS
Secondly, we discuss key challenges such as the new difficulties of providing safe and reliable COVID-19; public transport;
public transport services, the consequent barriers for the promotion of sustainable and healthy sustainable mobility; cities
urban mobilities and the potential exacerbation of inequalities. Finally, we assess future
research directions focussing on how pandemics should be monitored and the need to
construct sustainable and human-scale cities.

Introduction towards the use of private vehicles (see Figure 1) and

the introduction of micro-mobility measures includ­
Promoting the use of public transport for urban mobi­
ing temporary pedestrianization, extensions to cycle
lity is not only key for decarbonization and mitigating
networks, and road closures.
climate change, but also offers direct benefits for pub­
lic health: improving air quality in densely populated Social and health-related inequalities have been
areas, promoting active modes of transport, and exacerbated between those able to do telework and
encouraging activities that are less stressful than those who must travel on a daily basis. Preliminary
driving. reports from cities such as Barcelona (ATM & GURB
The situation has been dramatically changed by 2020) and New York (Sy et al. 2020) suggest COVID-
COVID-19. In addition to restrictions on human 19 has had its greatest impact in working-class neigh­
mobility, the use of public transport has been limited, bourhoods whose residents rarely do telework and
or discouraged (Tian et al. 2020), having been identi­ whose journeys-to-work increase the potential for
fied as a vector for the spread of infection in densely exposure to the virus.
populated areas (Buja et al. 2020). As demonstrated by
the previous SARS pandemic (Wang 2014), the fear of New global challenges facing public transport
infection also discourages the use of public transport. services
Figure 1 shows changing tendencies in four large cities
and a sharp fall in its use. Although there is great uncertainty and the debate is
Barring the discovery, and availability, of an effec­ only just emerging, it is possible to forecast several
tive vaccine or treatment, physical distancing may be medium- and long-term implications of the COVID-
necessary until 2022 (Kissler et al. 2020). Cities must 19 crisis for public transport services in cities (see
adjust to this situation and offset some of the more Figure 1).
negative long-term effects of the pandemic.
The provision of safe and reliable public transport
Short-term effects of COVID-19 on public services
transport services
Public transport operators must minimise the risk of
Unprecedented restrictions on the use of public space contagion both on-board and during passenger wait­
and mobility have been accompanied by some alarm­ ing time. The use of masks will, no doubt, remain
ing, and often contradictory, political pronounce­ common for some time. Services must be flexible
ments. Since public transport has been associated enough to satisfy user needs but (as and when
with health risks, public authorities have advised limit­ required) limitations must also be placed on occupa­
ing its use. This has produced a noticeable shift tion rates to ensure physical distancing. New

CONTACT Aaron Gutiérrez [email protected] Department of Geography, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Vila-seca 43480, Spain
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 A. GUTIÉRREZ ET AL.

Figure 1. The effects, challenges and research agenda associated with COVID-19 and urban public transport.
Source: Own research
 CITIES & HEALTH 3

technological solutions will be important and include with residential segregation and neighbourhood
the introduction of contactless systems and invest­ effects. Deprived neighbourhoods, besides being
ment in air renovation and filtering systems. characterised by higher proportions of less qualified
Fear of infection is real and associated stress could jobs, usually include more densely occupied urban
cause mental health problems. A shift in user prefer­ spaces and are less permeable to physical distancing
ences towards less crowded and more flexible trans­ requirements and changes to transport systems.
port solutions is highly likely. Transport operators will Inequalities could be either reinforced or softened
need to extend the provision of integrated multimodal depending on how public space and transport services
systems, incorporating the latest technologies, and are managed. Cities which maintain, or increase, the
communicate more effectively with their users. amount of space devoted to private vehicles, and/or
Multimodality and co-modality will be important fac­ which reduce the provision of public transport, could
tors, with the most suitable transport combinations prejudice and/or effectively exclude those without pri­
perhaps varying with real and perceived levels of risk. vate cars.
It is unclear how these changes will be funded. In the
short term, the public sector will probably assume the
Future research in the aftermath of COVID-19
cost, while longer-term actions will probably require
additional investment and a more efficient allocation The COVID-19 crisis and its medium- and long-term
of resources. Although, barring further serious out­ implications lead us to foresee an emerging research
breaks, occupation restrictions are unlikely to remain agenda based on sustainable and healthy urban mobility
in force, the economic crisis and more telework will and with solid guidelines for future pandemics (see
probably reduce commuting and cause a shift towards Figure 1).
the greater use of private transport. Any temptation to
increase fares and/or suppress services to counteract the
Study of changes in travel behaviour
effects of shrinking demand could have an additional
negative impact on working-class neighbourhoods. The reconfiguration of travel behaviour will be an
Public transport services recovery will be closely emerging research field. It is important to understand
linked to how cities redistribute the use of their urban how and why new constraints will affect different
space. Although public transport would benefit from social groups and whether they will exacerbate existing
more space being reserved for bus lanes rather than social, gender, age, and spatial imbalances. Unequal
private vehicles, in less densely populated cities it could access to, and availability of, transport could increase
be difficult to introduce more sustainable solutions. existing socioeconomic inequalities and segregation.
Another key research topic could involve the reasons
underlying the fear of contagion on public transport,
More sustainable and healthy urban mobility
their implications for human well-being and mental
The disruption caused by the pandemic could be used to health, and their potential to change travel behaviour.
make cities healthier and more sustainable, with more Experience derived from previous SARS pandemics
space being made available to pedestrians and cyclists. around the world (e.g. in South-East Asia) could per­
This is not difficult when mobility plummets, as hap­ haps help formulate best practices and recommended
pened during the initial virus outbreak. Although it may social responses. However, avoiding public transport
not be easy to make such decisions permanent, there is could become a widespread trend and cause the exclu­
a clear window of opportunity available and temporary sion of low-income workers and potentially affect their
action could subsequently inspire future policies. mental health. This could promote the purchase of
The demand for public transport will be shaped by private vehicles, resulting in greater financial burdens,
its interaction with other modes of transport. This is exacerbating inequalities, and increasing the ecologi­
also a question of how public space is (re)distributed. cal footprint. This phenomenon should be studied
Cities will have to decide which modes of transport worldwide, also in the Global South, where the supply
they will promote. Ideally, the combined offer of active of public transport is more limited.
modes and public transport should favour more sus­
tainable and healthier modal choices when the
Policy responses to the new context
demand for mobility recovers.
Precise estimations are needed of the contribution of
public transport to the spread of disease and of the
The potential exacerbation of inequalities
effectiveness of the strategies implemented. The role of
The resilience capacity of different groups varies, technology (contactless technologies, big data, and
with the most vulnerable social groups typically new means of communication) must also be analysed.
being the ones most affected. The pandemic could The provision of public transport services, which
exacerbate existing negative externalities associated depends on public funding and is often run at a loss,
4 A. GUTIÉRREZ ET AL.

requires a study of the efficiency of these services and Notes on contributors

their cost. Transport operators may need to remodel
Aaron Gutiérrez holds a PhD in Geography from the
their service and financial structures to achieve greater University of Lleida (Spain), 2009. Since 2011, he is
efficiency without forgetting the social implications of Lecturer in Regional Geographical Analysis at the
such action. Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) and researcher in the
Urban planning and transport management poli­ Research Group on Territorial Analysis and Tourism
cies must also be critically reviewed. The first actions Studies (GRATET).
taken during the COVID-19 crisis sought to promote Daniel Miravet holds a PhD in Economics from the
active modes and reduce the space given to private Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain), 2012. Since 2009, he is
vehicles. However, the policies that will be implemen­ working as a mobility manager for the Consortium of Public
Transport of Camp de Tarragona. Since 2010, he is Part-
ted in the medium and long-term are uncertain, as are time Lecturer in Applied Economics at the Universitat
how these will affect pedestrians and public transport. Rovira i Virgili (Spain).
Antoni Domènech is a PhD candidate in mobility and trans­
port at tourism destinations at the Universitat Rovira
Measuring uneven social, environmental, and i Virgili (Spain).
health impacts
The uneven impact of changes in travel behaviour is
another critical research issue. Currently emerging ORCID
lines of research include: the role of public transport Aaron Gutiérrez http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0557-6319
in creating new social and health inequalities; the Daniel Miravet http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7830-5515
environmental impact of modal choices; the distance Antoni Domènech http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1881-
and frequency of daily, occasional and leisure travel; 6679
and the social and spatial reconfiguration of urban
functions.
A more intense application of information technol­ References
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Disclosure statement use and COVID-19 outcomes in New York City.
medRxiv. doi:10.1101/2020.05.28.20115949
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