Dealing with impact of COVID-19 on transportation in a developing country: Insights and policy recommendations

Abstract

While developed nations have established policy frameworks for dealing with various macroeconomic shocks, developing countries respond to the influx of COVID-19 on heterogeneous scales, borne out of varying institutional bottlenecks. These inadequate transport facilities are not diversified enough to deal with an impending public health crisis. With the growing divergence in public transport management procedures and societal responses and willingness to adjust to a "new normal" transport procedures in time of COVID-19 and post-pandemic, it becomes expedient to learn evidence-based policy responses to transport service delivery. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with commuters and operators were thematically analysed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on transportation in Lagos Nigeria. The analysis revealed that increased cost of transportation, financial sustainability, changes in travel needs and loss of revenue were the significant impacts of the pandemic. This study contributes such that transport stakeholders can better understand how to navigate their transportation needs at this time of global uncertainty. The understanding of these impacts advances policy recommendations that are most inclined to the development objectives of developing nations in the time of COVID-19 and beyond. The limitations and suggestions for further research were discussed.

A systematic review of COVID-19 transport policies and mitigation strategies around the globe

“…Many governments have promoted change in activity/mobility patterns within the community, a strategy that has received much attention within the scientific community. To generate this change, measures such as work from home (telework) have been imposed ( Parr et al, 2021 , Thomas et al, 2022 ; R. Zhang and Zhang, 2021 , Marsden and Docherty, 2021 , Mogaji et al, 2022 ). ; Eregowda et al, 2021 ), flexible work arrangements ( Thomas et al, 2022 , Thombre and Agarwal, 2021 ), staggered working, school, services and organizations hours to eliminate peak commuting hours ( Thomas et al, 2022 , Bohman et al, 2021 , Mogaji et al, 2022 , Thombre and Agarwal, 2021 ), use of online/door-to-door services ( Thomas et al, 2022 , Zhang and Zhang, 2021 , Marsden and Docherty, 2021 ).…”

“…To generate this change, measures such as work from home (telework) have been imposed ( Parr et al, 2021 , Thomas et al, 2022 ; R. Zhang and Zhang, 2021 , Marsden and Docherty, 2021 , Mogaji et al, 2022 ). ; Eregowda et al, 2021 ), flexible work arrangements ( Thomas et al, 2022 , Thombre and Agarwal, 2021 ), staggered working, school, services and organizations hours to eliminate peak commuting hours ( Thomas et al, 2022 , Bohman et al, 2021 , Mogaji et al, 2022 , Thombre and Agarwal, 2021 ), use of online/door-to-door services ( Thomas et al, 2022 , Zhang and Zhang, 2021 , Marsden and Docherty, 2021 ). Bohman et al (2021) present a study about adjusting ticketing pricing and policies to meet new travel patterns, while Rajput et al (2022) study the impact of curfew in restaurants and bars.…”

“…Another government strategy is contact tracing . Studies in this area focus on recommending the use of smartcard-based contact tracing ( Mogaji et al, 2022 ), operator-controlled contact tracing ( Mogaji et al, 2022 , Auad et al, 2021 ), and on the definition and estimation of positivity detection time and its correlation with mobility patterns. Regarding the latter, Cartenì et al (2020) find that the standard two-week quarantine period may be insufficient as a containment strategy, since COVID + cases suspected of having been infected on public transport are associated with trips made 22 days before identifying infection.…”

Impact of COVID-19 on private driving behavior: Evidence from electric vehicle charging data

“…In this study, BI, which reflects public attention on COVID-19, plays no significant role in influencing EV charging demand, most likely due to a lag in public reaction to the outbreak. The government should actively communicate with the public and accelerate the resumption of social activities ( Mogaji et al, 2022 ). In the long run, policy makers and relevant authorities should guide people to use private and public transport properly and support sustainable transportation through subsidies and incentives, which is beneficial for the recovery of the transport system.…”

Implementation of COVID-19 measures in railway operation in the Slovak Republic

“…The impact of the pandemic on the transport sector, therefore, remains significant. The arrival of a new extremely contagious variant of COVID-19, omicron in the autumn of 2021 with still unknown properties compared to previous variants raised concerns about the fourth wave of the pandemic and more stringent measures to prevent the spread of the disease (Mogaji et al, 2022).In an effort to help the railway sector cope with the ongoing pandemic, the EU extended the possibility for Member States to reduce, waive or defer railway infrastructure charges until 30 June 2022. The measure was first introduced in October 2020, and the aim is to reduce the financial burden on railway undertakings during the COVID-19 pandemic (Tirachini and Cats, 2020).…”