Date: October 1, 2020
Author(s): Brian D. Taylor, Hao Ding
Abstract
UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies researchers reviewed public health literature on communicable diseases and public transit in order to understand 1) the association between traveling on public transit and the risk of infection, 2) the role of travel via public transportation in spatially spreading infectious diseases within a metropolitan region, and 3) lessons learned from transit operators’ responses to the pandemic. Simulation studies have generally projected rates of infection on public transit that are lower than many other settings, including households, workplace, schools, restaurants, and hospitals. Travel via public transit, like any other means of transportation, can facilitate the geographical propagation of a disease outbreak by moving people from one place to another where they can infect others or get infected at destination venues. Travel restrictions, or metropolitanwide lockdowns, albeit sometimes drastic, can effectively limit the spread of infectious diseases and reduce infections and deaths, as shown by various simulations as well as the experience of Chinese cities in fighting the COVID-19 outbreaks.
About the Project
The global COVID-19 pandemic has shocked many economic and social systems. One of the most profoundly affected has been the public transit systems that serve cities large and small. Ridership […]