Public transport and public health: Regulatory focus and the impact of COVID-19 on the choice of public transport mode

Health Behaviours among Travellers Regarding Risk Compensation Following COVID-19 Vaccination in Taizhou, China

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public transport was restricted in many countries because of the transmission risk. According to the risk compensation theory, travellers post-COVID-19 vaccination may encounter higher risks; however, no real-world studies provide such evidence. Therefore, we conducted a survey to assess whether risk compensation would occur among travellers' health-related behaviours after COVID-19 vaccination, potentially aggravating the transmission of the virus.

Materials and Methods

A self-administered online survey was designed and distributed over WeChat to identify the difference in health behaviours before and after COVID-19 vaccination among travellers at a train station in Taizhou, China, from 13 February to 26 April 2022.

Results

A total of 602 individuals completed the questionnaire. The results revealed no statistical difference between the health behaviours reported by the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Participants who received the first dose of the vaccine earlier showed no statistical difference in harmful health behaviours (hand washing frequency decreased by 4.1% (P=0.145) and the duration of public transport travel increased by 3.4% (P=0.437)), but showed better protective health behaviours (mask-wearing duration increased by 24.7% (P=0.014)). Compared to those vaccinated less than three times, participants vaccinated against COVID-19 three times showed no statistical differences in harmful health behaviours mask-wearing duration decreased by 7.0% (P=0.927), their hand washing frequency decreased by 4.8% (P=0.905), and the duration of public transport travel increased by 2.5% (P=0.287). After vaccination, when compared to themselves before vaccination, participants exhibited better health behaviours (increased hand washing frequency and mask-wearing duration, and decreased duration of public transport travel) to some extent.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study found no evidence of risk compensation among travellers. After being vaccinated, health behaviours partly improved among travellers.

Transport mode preferences of university students in post-COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak very quickly disrupted the order of human beings. While many sectors have been trying to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 process, they have also been trying to plan the new process for after the pandemic. Transport is one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic and it is necessary to produce the right political formulations for the post-pandemic period. For this reason, it is necessary to carefully examine the changing user demands in various segments of society due to COVID-19 and reveal effective post-pandemic transport policies. This study contributes to this requirement. Accordingly, this study investigated the transport mode preferences of university students in post-pandemic period in Istanbul, one of the important metropolises of the world, via the use of a survey. The reason for university students were focused on was that the mobility of university students is very high and in addition, they are more flexible than other age groups in using different transport modes. The main findings obtained from the study show that there will be a significant change in demand in transport modes after the pandemic. In particular, while a critical decrease may be observed in the travel demand for public buses, shared minibuses and LRT in public transport in post-pandemic period, a high increase in demand for private car use is highly probable. In addition, the research results indicate that COVID-19 can cause an increase in use of e-scooter/hoverboard and active travel modes. The results obtained through the statistical analysis and the discussions based on these results can make a significant contribution to the post-pandemic transport policies of cities with high university student populations and various transport modes, such as Istanbul.