Towards a resilient and attractive future public transport: Insights from a study on public transport usage patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The global Corona virus pandemic affected strongly travel behavior with expected long-term changes which will run counter to a sustainable development of mobility. One main issue is the setback experienced by public transport. This paper analyses the change in public transport, the reasons behind and potential measures. It is based on a quantitative survey, mobility data for the time before Corona and a focus groups discussion. The results suggest notable reduction in public transport use during the pandemic and critical evaluation of implemented measures. A reduction in public transport season ticket can be observed with variation in the values depending on subjective evaluation of public transport, type of settlement, and teleworking frequency. The paper discusses strategies for the development of a more resilient public transport system