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Welcome to today’s What is The Future For Cities podcast and its Research episode; my name is Fanni, and today I will introduce a research paper by summarising it. The episode really is just a short summary of the original paper, and, in case it is interesting enough, I would encourage everyone to check out the whole paper.

Our summary today works with the article titled Coronavirus recovery: public transport is key to avoid repeating old and unsustainable mistakes from 2020 by Hussein Dia published on The Conversation. I will interview Hussein Dia in the next episode, number 048R, and this is a great preparation for that interview. Plus, since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how the urban mobility is affected by the pandemic and how to make urban mobility better in the future after the pandemic. This article investigates sustainable shifts currently observable in cities with working from home and staying local, and how transport will be a particular challenge towards more sustainability.

Dia started with the acknowledgement that although at the time of the writing the restrictions seemed easing, people still try to avoid crowded places, which will particularly affect public transport. Thousands of journeys a day will need to be completed by other means. If people choose cars instead of public transport, congestion will be worse than before, emissions will soar, air quality and road safety will also suffer.

However, during these times, cities are reimaging their environments with repurposing streets to provide the proper infrastructure for the increased demand in walking and cycling. Regardless, these types of mobility cannot substitute public transport which must remain at the heart of urban mobility. Dia argues to rethink public transport design to enable physical distancing even if it reduces capacities. Additionally, drivers need protection, and crowding either on the vehicles or on the platforms and at the stops must be reduced. Crowding on public transport puts live at risk, as a recent study proved in the Metro in Washington DC. The smart card data showed that without change in demand only three initially infected passengers will lead to infect 55% of the passengers within 20 days.

More measures are needed and there are things we need to stop doing or start doing and other that need to happen sooner. Dia’s suggestions include increasing capacities by running more services, staggering work hours to reduce peak demand and transport demand management must also aim to reduce the overall need for travel – meaning encouraging working from elsewhere for people if they can. Managed passenger flow and decreased waiting times would decrease crowding and the technologies, such as passenger counting, can aid the monitor and control of passenger flow.

Dia argued for using smart technologies to try new solutions – such as apps telling passengers how crowded the arriving vehicle is or helping to book a seat on the rides. Furthermore, trials could include thermal imaging showing whether passengers have fever. There will be many technical and deployment challenges, but trials can identify issues and ease the transition. Dia also advocated for accelerated digitalisation and automation of public transport, including contactless operations, automated doors and passenger safety across the whole journey. Moreover, public transport needs to be expanded and diversified to be effective in dense areas and provide social value to residents. In less denser areas the demand-responsive service could be a better and more agile solution to transport people safely and quickly.

The lessons learned during this time about adapting how we live and work should guide the recovery efforts, which must improve the resilience of cities, and public transport. Infrastructure investments must aim to protect against future threats. Public transport will need reliable financial investment to provide quality of service and revive passenger confidence. Unfortunately, the harm caused by this pandemic was most sever on the most vulnerable. Staying home for work remains a luxury and people who have to go to work, must be able to do so with a reliable and safe public transport.

Dia highlighted that by the time the lockdown is over, many of our old habits will have changed, our everydays have been challenged through the notion of not have to leave our home for work. The new habits emerging today could help us solve tricky problems like traffic congestion and accessibility, persistent urban challenges being present for a long time. If there is one principle that should underpin recovery efforts, it should be to make choices today that in future we’d want us to have made. If driving becomes an established new habit, congestion will spike and persist, as will greenhouse gas emissions. Faced with these kinds of challenges, rash business as usual measures and behaviours will not protect us from this emergency or future crises. Cities that size this moment and boost investment in social infrastructure will enter the post-coronavirus world stronger, more equitable and more resilient.

Dia closes with the call for action: let us commit to shaping a recovery that rebuilds lives and promotes equality and sustainability, and by building on sustainable practices and a momentum of behavioural change, we can avoid repeating the unsustainable mistakes of the past.

As the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:

1. Public transport is an important element of a city enhancing its equitability and sustainability, providing mobility opportunities to everyone, therefore it is worth to keep but re-evaluate.
2. Public transport is in great danger of abandonment due to fears about crowded places, but these problems can be mitigated with better management and implementation of technological advancements, for example.
3. The sustainable aspects we have learned during the pandemic, such as working from home and only traveling when we need to instead of going every day in the office, can be the basics for a better future if we make an effort to keep these new habits.

Additionally, it would be great to talk about the following questions:

1. Is it proved without a doubt that the decrease of urban car use results in cleaner air quality and lowers emissions? I know there is anecdotal evidence of clearer skies and fresher air, but do we have measurements to prove or disprove this?
2. How can we make public transport more desirable again?
3. Do you think that public transport is in the future of cities?
4. What changes have you noticed in your daily life which are more sustainable? Are you determined to keep them?

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