Public transport qualities and inequalities in pandemic times

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed crucial tensions related to urban public infrastructure. Among those, questions regarding urban mobility, and public transport (PT) in particular, have received widespread attention in media and political debates. Stigmatisation, ridership slumps, funding problems and system closures have placed public transport systems in the centre of public debate about urban infrastructure. In this paper, we discuss three dimensions in which PT, as a site of urban armature, linking service provisions with individual needs, has been affected by COVID-19. First, we look at the user experience. Considering PT as public space shaped by encounters and emotions, we bring to the fore its contentious and complicated nature, affected by increasing or emerging anxieties and disturbances due to COVID-19. We further underline the inequity of transport provision and access: while some users have easily switched to alternative mobility options, others have remained dependent on PT, and had to navigate new and unevenly distributed challenges. Secondly, we refer to government responses, particularly in terms of funding arrangements, fare systems and controls, and labour organisation. Around the world, PT operators have faced unprecedented financial challenges, pressed to adapt their system to a, "new normality" while observing passenger flows decline drastically. As these problems have been particularly dire in transport networks that depend on a high share of fare-box revenue, a growing number of municipalities is considering a shift to fare-free PT. Thirdly, we discuss possible futures: While some commentators argue that PT faces an imminent decline due to mid-pandemic mobility needs and requirements, we argue that the role of urban public infrastructure is more vital than ever before, especially for underprivileged but recently acknowledged workers in the social and service sector. The paper brings together findings from an online study on mobility behaviour during COVID-19, interviews and policy analysis conducted by the research team from May to August 2020. In-depth investigations on Tallinn, Brussels, Stockholm and Berlin are brought into discussion with global scholarly and practitioners' reflections.