For more than one year, the effects of the pandemic have slammed the operations of the public transportation ecosystem. People are hesitant to use public transportation facilities due to the restrictions put forth by the authorities. Taxi drivers, private bus owners, and other public transportation suffer a great deal of loss in this situation.
Up to one-third of the population in certain cities has ceased to use public transit because of the pandemic and It is impossible to tell whether they will ever get back on board or not anytime soon.
According to research, the travel habits of people are deeply affected due to the rise of remote working and store home orders. On the other hand, people are afraid to use public transportation facilities and opt for their personal vehicles for travel.
Many transport businesses like private bus owners, taxi drivers and rentals industries have been deeply disrupted by this pandemic. The volume of people commuting has been significantly low and footfall is significantly low due to the social distancing. Despite the fact that the decline in passenger transportation demand is being driven by social distancing limitations, COVID-19 may have a long-term impact on people's travel behavior.
Many city/state/national governments published rules for public transportation operators, citing a heightened danger of community transmission of the virus in buses. These instructions ranged from distributing tickets to cleaning seats 4,5. Government-imposed limitations have severely harmed both public transportation services and demand.
Even when the situation has stabilized, the feeling of risk connected with congested regions may cause a shift in preferences toward personal transport options. To avoid crowds, people may avoid taking public transportation. People may also shun means of shared transportation such as auto-rickshaws, micro-transit vans, e-rickshaws, and so on. The COVID shutdown is causing economic hardship for drivers engaged in app-based taxi services in the short term. However, it is unclear if these modes will face long-term economic consequences due to decreased travel demand.
How long will we continue like this?
There is a chance that the world will face similar situations like pandemics in the future years. But does that mean we should avoid public transportation forever? No, we need to find solutions and alternatives to tackle this issue.
So what's the solution?
We will address the solution in the next blog. Stay tuned and subscribe for more interesting content.
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