The Impact of COVID-19 on Mobility and Congestion
The COVID-19 pandemic has been posing unprecedented challenges for the transport sector. Urban travel has declined all over the world, but not uniformly for all modes; public transportation has taken the hardest blow. As a result, there has been a widespread reduction in public transport ridership: according to recent estimates, passenger numbers in cities around the world have been at the peak of the pandemic down 70 to 90 percent. This paper examines the short-run economic impact of the pandemic, as well as the generic and sector-specific restrictions that were adopted to control the outbreak of the pandemic, based on a rich database tracking on a daily basis public transport usage and traffic congestion. The analysis confirms the significant impact of sector-specific restrictions and broader lockdown measures in terms of reduction in urban mobility and congestion. The analysis finds that the spread of the disease itself had an economic impact distinct from that of the lockdown measures. There are also different results on the magnitude of impact of cross-sectoral vis-à-vis sectoral restrictions on urban mobility and congestion. Whereas the magnitude of the spread of the disease is higher than the overall stringency of the lockdown, the impact of restrictions of public transit has been much greater than the spread of the disease and acts indirectly as a disincentive to move on the road. More effective safety measures, such as those related to the use of facial covering, are associated with higher use of public transport and an increase in the likelihood of low congestion. There is no evidence of intermodal competition between public transportation and road transport. In particular, the expansion of car registration has not led to a decrease in public transport mobility, but it is significantly associated with an increase in traffic congestion, particularly in mega-cities.
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2023-03
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| Subjects: | TRANSPORT SECTOR, COVID-19 IMPACT ON TRAFFIC, CONGESTION, REAL TIME INDICATORS, URBAN TRAVEL DECLINE, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION USAGE, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099523003092341258/IDU03a959b5c03bce0477d0ab8a0e2c422b81b7a https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/39533 |
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| Summary: | The COVID-19 pandemic has been posing
unprecedented challenges for the transport sector. Urban
travel has declined all over the world, but not uniformly
for all modes; public transportation has taken the hardest
blow. As a result, there has been a widespread reduction in
public transport ridership: according to recent estimates,
passenger numbers in cities around the world have been at
the peak of the pandemic down 70 to 90 percent. This paper
examines the short-run economic impact of the pandemic, as
well as the generic and sector-specific restrictions that
were adopted to control the outbreak of the pandemic, based
on a rich database tracking on a daily basis public
transport usage and traffic congestion. The analysis
confirms the significant impact of sector-specific
restrictions and broader lockdown measures in terms of
reduction in urban mobility and congestion. The analysis
finds that the spread of the disease itself had an economic
impact distinct from that of the lockdown measures. There
are also different results on the magnitude of impact of
cross-sectoral vis-à-vis sectoral restrictions on urban
mobility and congestion. Whereas the magnitude of the spread
of the disease is higher than the overall stringency of the
lockdown, the impact of restrictions of public transit has
been much greater than the spread of the disease and acts
indirectly as a disincentive to move on the road. More
effective safety measures, such as those related to the use
of facial covering, are associated with higher use of public
transport and an increase in the likelihood of low
congestion. There is no evidence of intermodal competition
between public transportation and road transport. In
particular, the expansion of car registration has not led to
a decrease in public transport mobility, but it is
significantly associated with an increase in traffic
congestion, particularly in mega-cities. |
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