Nikolaidou Anastasia, Kopsacheilis Aristomenis, Georgiadis Georgios, Noutsias Theodoros, Politis Ioannis, Fyrogenis Ioannis
Transport Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece.
Cities. 2023 Mar;134:104206. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2023.104206. Epub 2023 Jan 16.
In this paper we investigate the public transport trip frequency variations, as well as the reasons that led to the shift away from public transport means, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We studied relevant data from the Moovit platform, and we compared operational and trip frequency characteristics of public transport systems before and after the outbreak of the pandemic in 87 cities worldwide. On average, waiting times at public transport stops/stations increased while trip distances decreased, apparently due to the mobility restriction and social distancing measures implemented in 2020. Most of the Moovit users who said that they abandoned public transport in 2020 were found in Italy and Greece. We developed linear regression analysis models to investigate (among the 35 variables examined in the study) the relationship between public transport abandonment rates and socioeconomic factors, quality of service characteristics, and indicators of pandemic's spread. Empirical findings show that public transport dropout rates are positively correlated with the COVID-19 death toll figures, the cleanliness of public transport vehicles and facilities, as well as with the income inequality (GINI) index of the population, and thus reconfirm previous research findings. In addition, the waiting time at stops/stations and the number of transfers required for commute trips appeared to be the most critical public transport trip segments, which significantly determine the discontinuation of public transport use under pandemic circumstances. Our research findings indicate specific aspects of public transport services, which require tailored adjustments in order to recover ridership in the post-pandemic period.
在本文中，我们研究了由于新冠疫情导致的公共交通出行频率变化，以及人们不再选择公共交通出行方式的原因。我们研究了来自Moovit平台的相关数据，并比较了全球87个城市在疫情爆发前后公共交通系统的运营情况和出行频率特征。平均而言，公共交通站点的候车时间增加，而出行距离缩短，这显然是由于2020年实施的出行限制和社交距离措施所致。在2020年表示放弃公共交通出行的Moovit用户中，大部分集中在意大利和希腊。我们开发了线性回归分析模型，以研究（在该研究中考察的35个变量中）公共交通放弃率与社会经济因素、服务质量特征以及疫情传播指标之间的关系。实证结果表明，公共交通放弃率与新冠死亡人数、公共交通车辆和设施的清洁程度以及人口的收入不平等（基尼）指数呈正相关，从而再次证实了先前的研究结果。此外，站点的候车时间和通勤所需的换乘次数似乎是最关键的公共交通出行环节，它们在很大程度上决定了疫情期间公共交通使用的中断情况。我们的研究结果指出了公共交通服务的特定方面，为了在疫情后时期恢复客流量，需要进行针对性调整。
