As countries open up, what does equitable transport look like?

Slowly, countries across the world are beginning to reopen their economies, sending their population back to work and encouraging more movement in an attempt to undo the significant effects of economic stagnation. But as they do so, they’re encountering a number of problems. Getting people moving is more difficult than it may seem, not least because of the way we’ve historically travelled.

Cities across the globe are facing “a crisis in public transport,” says Matthew Baldwin, deputy director at the European Commission, and the European Union’s co-ordinator for road safety and sustainable mobility. “People are less mobile and it’s very likely public transport operators will be asked to observe new safety rules such as on social distancing,” he says.

“This indeed may be necessary to keep everyone safe, but we also need to recognise the impact on local authorities in terms of supplying essential transport services within already tight budgets.”

A one-metre social distancing rule cuts capacity on buses by half, says Baldwin. Extend that to 1.5 metres, and it’s down to 20% capacity. “In the short term at least, it may be been a struggle for buses and trams and trains,” he reckons.

“I hope public confidence in buses and trams can be rapidly rebuilt because you simply can’t run a city without a big role for public transport,” says Baldwin. But with 61% of Britons uncomfortable using public transport, according to pollsters Ipsos MORI, there’s a long way to go to convince people to venture back out onto public transport.

Operators are trying to reassure users of their safety. In Istanbul, a "hygiene fleet" of 420 cleaners are scrubbing and disinfecting the city’s buses; 100 others work in the subways, making sure they’re immaculate and aren’t vectors of disease. Alongside that, Istanbul has said it will be regularly cleaning all its ventilation filters and pipes, and all surfaces, to stop the spread of Covid-19. In Hong Kong, authorities don’t even want to put humans at risk of contracting coronavirus while cleaning metro carriages: they’ve instead deployed robots spraying hydrogen peroxide to do it. The robot takes four hours to clean an eight-car train.

In Rwanda, they’ve gone further, making sure passengers are hygienic before they board buses. Portable sinks have been installed at bus stops, and drivers don’t allow passengers on board until they wash their hands. That’s similar to initiatives in Asia, where hand sanitiser stations have been placed on board trams, buses and metros to

And in the UK, Transport for London, which operates the capital’s bus routes, has stopped accepting cash and makes passengers board by the middle doors of a bus to prevent interacting with drivers, who have seen higher than average death rates and levels of infection. Elsewhere in the UK some bus companies, including Go North East, have pushed passengers to use contactless card payments, refusing to accept anything but correct change in physical cash for a fare.

That could accentuate the social divide, however. “People at the lower end of the labour market, who are probably most hit by covid and have flexible jobs, are more reliant on public transport as they don’t have the money to afford a car,” says Jeroen Bastiaanssen of Leeds University.

Those who are less likely to own a car are more likely to need to travel to work – and to do so safely. When it comes down to deciding whether to change it on a bus or train, or to stay at home, the crucible of thought can shift if there’s literally no money left in your bank account. It’s for that reason that it’s vital to strike a balance between affordable and practicable cleaning and hygiene measures that assure passengers of their safety, while not taking vital public transport links out of service for too long.

Countries around the world could learn from China, where bus companies operate at 50% capacity in order to help keep some semblance of social distancing, using floor markings. Buses are cleaned after every trip – meaning that it’s rarely more than two hours between a bus being sanitised and a passenger embarking on a journey. The country’s social surveillance system also helps keep track of potential outbreaks: on some buses and metros, passengers are asked to scan a QR code to show their movements, while so-called “health control checkpoints” monitor where people go.

The latter is certainly unpalatable for a free society not used to surveillance and monitoring, but more conspicuous cleaning – and public messaging campaigns around it – are the best way to coax people out of their homes and back onto public transport. — Chris Stokel-Walker

(Picture credit: Unsplash)