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Barriers for accessibility by public transport during the Covid-19 pandemic: The case of Malmö, Sweden
Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Mobility, actors and planning processes. K2 – The Swedish Knowledge Centre for Public Transport, Lund, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3008-6023
Lund University, Sweden; K2 – The Swedish Knowledge Centre for Public Transport, Lund, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6751-4861
2021 (English)Conference paper, Oral presentation only (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, interventions such as travel restrictions, remote work and education, and recommendations for society to limit social contacts have all affected the demand for public transport (PT). In this context, PT authorities and operators face the unprecedented challenge of maintaining adequate levels of service, affordability and accessibility for most people, at the same time safeguarding the health of users and workers whilst dealing with severe financial instability. A crucial goal for PT is to provide accessibility to relevant destinations, in turn reducing the risk of transport-related social exclusion. PT may be the only option for those who are unable or unwilling to walk, cycle or drive a car and who still have to carry out necessary out-of-home activities (often referred to as “captive users”). This group’s dependence on PT is likely to have been magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic, with this group also most likely to have been affected by the changes in PT provision. On the one hand, demand for PT has dramatically declined, but this decline in demand is not evenly distributed across social groups. Research has so far shown that working from home during the COVID-19pandemic is mostly a privilege of people with higher incomes, who have also stopped using PT in large numbers. On the other hand, measures aimed at reducing PT provision have been implemented in different parts of the world, representing a threat to PT’s accessibility and social equity goals. This implies that lower income users face a threefold challenge: (1) they still need to leave their home to reach relevant destinations (e.g. workplace); (2) they are more likely to to be dependent on PT as the only suitable transport option; and (3) they are more likely to be disproportionately affected by the reduction in the PT supply. During 2020, the PT authority of the region in which the city of Malmö is located reduced the supply of PTs a consequence of decreased revenues. This reduction resulted in a warning from the national government, and in a risk of losing part of the state subsidies. This study investigates (1) how the PT provision in Malmö, Sweden changed as a consequence of the pandemic; (2) the areas in the city which were most affected by these changes and their socio-economic and demographic characteristics; and (3) how these changes are perceived by and relate to everyday mobility practices among different (im)mobile subjects. These aims are fulfilled by combining quantitative and qualitative analyses.  

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021.
National Category
Transport Systems and Logistics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:vti:diva-20943OAI: oai:DiVA.org:vti-20943DiVA, id: diva2:1859790
Conference
8th NoRSA Conference, Pärnu, Estonia, [DIGITAL], October 13-14, 2021.
Available from: 2024-05-22 Created: 2024-05-22 Last updated: 2024-05-22Bibliographically approved

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Vitrano, ChiaraRyan, Jean

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