Exploring the relationship between public transport use and COVID-19 infection: A survey data analysis in Madrid Region

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people's mobility patterns, increasing the preference for private modes and reducing the public transportation demand. Most scientific contributions have studied the role of mobility levels in the spread of the virus and the influence of public transport on COVID-19 infections, but ignoring the importance of individual-level variables potentially affecting COVID-19 infection, such as daily habits. This paper analyses the relationship between the probability of being infected by COVID-19 and using public transport through a survey data analysis, taking Madrid (Spain) as the case study. This research uses a survey campaign with more than 15,000 responses, capturing socio-demographic aspects, COVID-19 infections, daily habits, and mobility patterns with high risk of COVID-19 infection. Through a multilevel probit model, this paper explores the extent to which a higher use of public transport is related to a greater likelihood of COVID-19 infection. The results suggest a relationship, although not very strong, between the probability of infection and the conjunction of higher frequency of use of metro services and level of crowding during the trip, whereas the use of bus services and travel time within the vehicle do not appear to affect.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105279
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210670724001070
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/22106707
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Tapiador, Lucía
  • 0000-0001-7573-6280
  • Gomez, Juan
  • Vassallo, José Manuel
  • 0000-0001-7151-4939
• Publication Date: 2024-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 105279
• Serial:
  • Sustainable Cities and Society
  • Volume: 104
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 2210-6707
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22106707?sdc=2

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: COVID-19; Rapid transit; Ridership; Transit riders; Travel patterns; Virus transmission
• Identifier Terms: Metro de Madrid
• Geographic Terms: Madrid (Spain)
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01915505
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 18 2024 10:27AM