Modal share of public transport, COVID-19 responses and recovery

Abstract

Where public transport's modal share is relatively higher in normalcy, decisions to maintain public transport services during the pandemic were made relatively easily even as an ad hoc decision in response to COVID-19. In such places, the recovery of the number of passengers tends to be faster and reaching closer to 100% of the prepandemic level. On the contrary, where public transport's modal share is relatively low in normalcy and car is a convenient and realistic travel option, difficulty in decision-making is observed to keep up services during the pandemic, and the recovery of passengers seems slower. Where the service volume is reduced, the less passengers are coming back to public transport as a consequence. This is especially the case with some commuter rail services in North America, which typically have a hub-and-spoke type of network and whose timetable is adapted for commuters plying suburbs and CBDs.