We have seen how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we travel. Riders have turned away from using public transit and have seeked modal alternatives such as biking and walking. But for others, this might not be a viable option. Public transport is an essential part of life for many living in urban areas, providing both convenience and mobility to those who are not able to use private vehicles as well as providing an effective way to increase the amount of peace in our environment. So, how can public transit accommodate their passengers so that they are protected from catching the virus? One of the first steps may be listening to what riders have to say.

Public Transportation & The Environment

Before we delve into our findings, we must first explain the relationship between public transit and the environment. The relationship between public transit and the environment is a fairly simple one; using public transportation instead of a personal vehicle results in an overall benefit to the environment. 

According to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), using public transport is able to help local metropolitan areas meet air quality standards via reducing the amount of pollution caused by motor vehicles, which accounts for 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.A. Statistics from the FTA show that, “heavy rail transit such as subways and metros produce on average 76% lower greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile than an average single-occupancy vehicle.” 

The layout of public transit systems can also aid in environmentalism as well; by supporting high density land development via reducing the distance between major destinations, fewer emissions are created and more land (that would have been used for roads) can be made available for public works projects like parks, wildlife preserves, and agriculture. Increased public transit use not only allows for more of these public projects to be implemented, but also reduces the need for pavement, which creates runoff into the water supply during heavy rain, degrading its quality. 

Another benefit corresponding to the reduced emissions is the savings from car gas and the reduction in traffic congestion. In a study conducted by Texas A&M University’s Transportation Institute, the average American consumer wasted 21 extra gallons of fuel and 54 hours of travel time due to traffic congestion.

The Impact of Covid-19 on Public Transit

Like with many other transit industries, the 2020 Novel Coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted public transportation. Most services were either halted or reduced, with the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Agency alone reducing the amount of regional rail trains to 85 from 500 and suspending 6 out of 13 rail routes, based on data collected by software engineer Doug Muth, who runs a website dedicated to monitoring the volume and timeliness of SEPTA’s rail lines, SEPTA Stats!. 

Many similar examples of either reduced service or complete shutdown can be seen across the world, from Wuhan’s complete lockdown to the UK reducing its public transport services.

The pandemic has also elicited a reaction from the general public, with 64% of people from a 1,000 person survey by Ford Mobility stating that they’d avoid public transit after the restrictions were loosened, with 36% stating that they would consider using it if safety precautions were implemented.

Public transport agencies (PTA) have also implemented other measures to fight back against the pandemic, with Chinese PTA’s implementing facial temperature scanners. In Berlin, Germany, a traditionally car-based country, the streets have been re-adjusted to include bike lanes to help with crowding in public transit. New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has teamed up with Transit Innovation Partnership to provide incentives for the private tech sector to provide solutions (thermal monitoring, sanitation, crowding prevention, etc...) that help the agency reach “critical pandemic-related health objectives.”

The Focus Group

We know about what public transportation agencies are doing in response to Covid-19, but what about the commuting public? We put together a focus group of students who attend a US-based university with a campus located near a mass transit system, rated how important certain practices were in their decision to take public transportation. The students also determined how likely they would ride public transit if these practices were implemented as a stand alone. 

The experiment was designed to gauge general attitudes towards certain actions public transit agencies can take and have taken to combat the pandemic. We used public transit riders since they are one of the stakeholders of public transit, being both their main source of revenue and needing them to travel to destinations.

Results from the case study shows that practices such as mask requirements, seat blockings, and sanitization are currently high priority over practices such as frequent service or reduced fare, and are also factors that will make riders more likely to ride public transit again. 

In the study, individuals were also asked about less common practices that are implemented in other countries, but have yet to be seen in the U.S. These practices included the use of facial sensor artificial intelligence to measure rider’s temperature, health-based colored QR codes that are required to enter transit systems, and the provision of live data on congestion levels. 

Most respondents were unsure if they would ride public transit if these practices were implemented -- most likely due to the unfamiliarity of the practice. There is also the possibility of privacy concerns, such as with the facial temperature sensor AI. Facial recognition software has long been a worry for privacy advocates in the U.S.A. due to its potential abuse by law enforcement agencies.

This study’s findings are also contingent on the public’s compliance with the safety measures. If the commuters did not follow the safety measures, then it is extremely likely that the participants would not ride on public transit. Public transportation agencies have taken note of this and implemented decisions that increase the public’s ability to follow the policies. For instance, Washington DC’s DC Metro will begin providing 500,000 cloth masks to its commuters at major transit locations in August.

Conclusion 

Ultimately, riding public transit can be seen as a positive peace behavior. By safely riding public transit, one can help to benefit the environment by reducing traffic congestion and decreasing emissions. When we safely utilize public transit, we can foster positive peace by being good to the environment, to our communities, and to our fellow travellers.

As transit riders are one of the main stakeholders of public transportation, it is important that their feedback is taken into consideration when enforcing public health measures in the transit system along with ensuring a balance of efficient and effective interventions.

Our biggest takeaways from the case study were that:

• The participants ranked “mandatory masks” as the most important factor when deciding to take public transportation. It is followed by cleanliness and enforcement of social distancing, with fare price ranking at the bottom. 

• Measures that involved cataloging personal data about the commuter were less popular than more general measures.

• Measures that required the commuter to take initiative (using hand sanitizer dispensers) while on the vehicle were not popular as opposed to having the commuter take initiative before riding (wearing a mask).

• The participants were more likely to use public transit if general measures recommended by the FTA were applied and followed by the public (limiting the amount of seats available, requiring a mask, disinfecting the seats).

Our next steps for this research is to scale up the sample size as well as editing the exercise to be more comprehensive, such as gauging the participant’s attitude towards precautions that increase their ability to comply with safety measures, like face mask social campaigns. With a larger sample size, we would be able to interact with and cross more difference boundaries, lending to a more comprehensive view of the general attitudes of the commuting public. An immediate action that you can take is to wear a facemask and maintain social distancing!

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