Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on transit ridership around the world, including in Metro Vancouver, Canada. The regional transit agency there, TransLink, faced the challenge of not only tackling the sudden revenue loss but also ensuring the safety and comfort of its riders that could be affected by crowding. As the tide of restrictions subsided, and riders are gradually coming back to public transport, their feelings of safety and comfort must be ensured so that they do not deflect to other modes. To guide TransLink and agencies alike in this process, this study aimed to understand the factors that affected the decision to board a bus and level of comfort of riding it for different behavioral classes of transit riders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It employed a classification of transit riders based on their attitudes towards personal safety and flexibility both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigated the effect of crowding on their decision to board and the comfort of boarding a bus at various crowding levels. The findings of this study are expected to guide the development of relevant policy interventions that can engage diverse groups of riders to continue using transit in a way that is convenient, comfortable, and safe for them.

    Highlights Six behavioral classes were identified based on riders' sentiment towards crowding and flexibility when commuting to and from work or education. Riders who are more concerned with crowding are less likely to board a bus in general, and this remains true with the increase in the level of crowding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to December 2020, all riders were more likely to board a bus in May 2021 (likely due to the drop in hospitalizations and uptake in vaccination). Members of all behavioral classes are less likely to feel comfortable as the crowding level onboard increases, however, the disutility of riders in the high concern classes (with both low and high flexibility) is significantly larger.


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    Title :

    Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the comfort of riding a crowded bus in Metro Vancouver, Canada



    Published in:

    Transport Policy ; 141 ; 83-96


    Publication date :

    2023-07-19


    Size :

    14 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




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