As Covid-19 cases rose, commuters started to opt for private transport: IIT study

More people shifted to private transport for commuting to work in the transition phase until the national lockdown, states a study by the Indian Institutes of Technology

More people shifted to private transport for commuting to work in the transition phase until the national lockdown, states a study by the Indian Institutes of Technology in Mumbai (IIT-B) and Hyderabad (IIT-H). The study looks into the impact of Covid-19 on daily commute to work in the third week of March till the lockdown.

HT Image

In Tier-1 cities, it was found that about 12% of the respondents switched from public to private mode during the third week of March. This modal shift was around 9% in Tier-2 cities and about 7% in Tier-3.

The report, said researchers, was based on the responses of over 1,900 participants from tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Most responses were received from tier-1 (63.6%) followed by tier-2 (20.6%) and tier-3 cities (15.8%).

“Given the uncertainties in the minds of commuters regarding their travel behaviour due to social distancing, it is important for policymakers and local transport authorities to understand the change in travel pattern,” said Digvijay S Pawar, assisstant professor, department of civil engineering, IIT-H.

Moreover, nearly 48% of people said that they did not travel to work during the third week of March, whereas 28% continued the old frequency of travel to work. When enquired about the cancellation of trips between the cities using major modes of transportation, around 18 % said they cancelled their flights whereas, 20% cancelled train journeys.

The research team comprised Prof. Nagendra Velaga, department of civil engineering, IIT-B, Ankit Kumar Yadav, a research student at IIT-B, S Pawar and Pritha Chatterjee, assistant professors, department of civil Engineering, IIT-H.

When respondents were asked about their safety perception towards transport during the pandemic, 93% said that private transport was safer than public mode.

The researchers also emphasised upon spreading more awareness about Covid-19, especially among the weaker sections of the society. “The rapidly changing diaspora of this pandemic is a threat to public health and is making human life more challenging,” added Pawar.