Structural equation modeling of public transport use with COVID-19 precautions: An extension of the norm activation model

Abstract

This study aims to identify the travelers’ attitudes and preferences towards the use of public transport during COVID-19 through the Norm-Activation Model (NAM). A questionnaire survey was designed to assess the traveler’s awareness, sense of responsibility, and moral obligations to comply with safety norms or guidelines while using public transport in Lahore, Pakistan. The Structural Equation Modeling method was applied to analyze the collected 1516 complete responses. The survey results and measurement equations confirmed the association between observed and corresponding latent variables. The results of SEM revealed that the travelers’ Awareness of Consequences (AC) and Ascription of Responsibility (AR) are positively correlated with Personal Norms (PN), whereas attitudes towards public transport are negatively related to the PN. The perceived behavioral control (PBC) and PN have negative structural correlations with public transport use. However, the attitudes towards public transport are strong predictors of travelers’ behavior towards public transport. The current motorcycle users and high-income people have low preferences, whereas current users of public transport modes and middle-income people have high preferences to choose public transport during a pandemic. The travelers’ perceived difficulty of complying with safety guidelines while traveling, such as wearing a facemask, use of sanitizers, and maintaining a social distance, have a significant impact on their public transport use. The travelers’ better awareness, responsibility, and trust in using public transport may have a strong influence on their preferences towards public transport during a pandemic situation.

Perceived risks of transit use during COVID-19: Correlates and strategies from a case study in El Paso, Texas

“…Our survey results highlighted that there is a large room for improvement in terms of passenger communication about the implemented safety measures. As Ashraf Javid et al (2021) pointed out, public transportation providers and passengers need to better recognize the associated benefits of following the safety guideline. To attract passengers back, it is critical for transit providers to explore innovative and effective methods to increase public awareness about their ongoing safety and preventive measures.…”

“…Low transit ridership could further lead to financial crises and operational difficulties. As many studies highlighted, fear of infection and unfavorable public views of transit services are the primary challenges for rebuilding transit riders' confidence ( Abdullah et al, 2021 ; Ashraf Javid et al, 2021 ; Hotle et al, 2020 ; Vichiensan et al, 2021 ). Given COVID-19 may remain a potential public health threat for a longer period of time than what might once have been expected, building trust and attracting riders back have become crucial priorities for Sun Metro and other transit providers.…”

Changes in People’s Mobility Behavior in Greece after the COVID-19 Outbreak

“…As a result, public transportation's ridership has continuously decreased and has received negative public perceptions [25]. To this view, researchers and policymakers are interested in people's intentions to use public transportation to develop marketing strategies and managerial applications to increase ridership [26,27]. The transportation policy-related soft measures, which include voluntary changes through psychological and behavioral strategies, play an essential role in motivating people to use public transportation by enhancing intentions to use public transportation [28,29].…”

Factors Affecting Commuters' Intentions in Using Park and Ride (P&R) Facilities Based on Theory of Planned Behavior

“…Meanwhile, from the results of the measurement model evaluation, the PBC7 indicator is still maintained because even though it is not significant, the indicator has an outer loading value of more than 0.50, which is 0.598. This condition is also reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic, which causes changes in people's behavior in mode selection activities, where cleanliness is one of the essential aspects that people consider when using public transportation during the pandemic [16], [17], [39].…”

“…Therefore, it is essential to discuss a person's motivation and behavior related to using P&R. However, the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic impacts public transportation. Javid et al [16] and Zhang et al [17] explained that there was an increase in passenger anxiety because they considered public transportation to have a high risk of being exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, apart from implementing the social restriction policy, there was a 43% decrease in the number of public transportation users in East Java.…”