Kollektivtrafikens sårbarhet i Covid-19-eran: En holistisk strategi framåt

The role of public transport in society is crucial, particularly for those who do not have access to alternative transport modes. For public transport to be able to fulfil its societal role, it should not be perceived as unsafe or unhealthy by its (potential) users. Several studies from all over the world have shown that anxiety has increased remarkably during the pandemic, and it is likely to last much longer. Furthermore, the pandemic is expected to affect travel behaviour even when it will be over and all the restrictions will be lifted due to, among other things, increased teleworking, increased unemployment and the remaining effect of concerns about congestion and infection. This study aims to investigate how the public transport supply has adjusted during the different stages of the pandemic and what the result of these changes on the costs of public transport has been. The study also aims to identify today's challenges, the measures that have already been implemented and what needs to be done in the future to keep public transport functioning in similar circumstances and to help it recover quickly and fully after the pandemic. The method used to understand the pandemic's impact on public transport and thus be able to answer the study's first two questions, is a literature study. Thereafter, quantitative data on ridership, public transport supply and costs have been collected. The data has been analyzed and visualized to present it in an easy-to-understand way. To answer the final question about how to better adapt public transport to the covid-19 pandemic in the medium and long term, qualitative interviews have been conducted. Finally, the proposed strategies presented in this paper have been assessed using the multi-Criteria Analysis.