COVID-19 and Sustainable Mobility Observations and documentation of frst developments Published on the Occasion of TUMITV on May 26th, 2020 2 Content COVID-19: A Global challenGe 1 A crisis evolves 3 Phases 1 and 2: Focus on Public Transport and getting prepared 4 Coordinated Response 4 Protection of of Staf, Infrastructure and Passengers 4 Protection of Staf and Infrastructure 6 Protection of Passengers and People 7 Coordinated Demand Management 9 Shared mobility 10 Phase 3: And the winner is…cyclinG 15 Phase 4: Post-Lockdown: Focusing again on public transport as well as on long-term prospects 17 The bill and green stimuli 19 Early observations on impact of COVID-19 21 Illustrative examples showcasing impact on emissions, demand and other aspects 21 Initial analysis of mobility trends 22 Summary 26 Annex 1: The 4 phases of COVID-19 and transport response 27 Annex 2: Case study COVID-19 and Public Transport in Tunisia 30 Annex 3: COVID-19 and Public Transport in Costa Rica The State, the bus operators and the media 31 Annex 4: In-Depth Country Observation Brazil Decrease in passenger demand in Brazil puts the transportation sector on alert 36 Annex 5: Case Study: COVID 19 and public transport in Peru The government moves towards the prevention of the contagion chain 38 Annex 6: Case Study: COVID 19 and public transport in Liberia 44 COVID-19: A global challenge When the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic their effectiveness and an overall assessment of the became an international challenge at the beginning crisis. of March 2020, we very quickly realized that the impact on the transport sector would be enormous. Figure 1: The new “normal” in Monrovia/Liberia, Not only that the transport sector is one of the Source: Yana Tumakova / GIZ transmission vectors, but also that with the social and economic constraints, it became clear that transport demand would decrease and that transport services would have to be adapted to the conditions of the emergency. We also recognized that there was (and still is) a need for direct knowledge exchange and mutual learning and therefore on the one hand set up a blog from which this publication grew, started a Twitter thread and implemented various learning formats such as webinars (e.g. on March 20, 2020 on “Combating COVID-19: The Shenzhen Bus Group’s Experience (China)”. SLOCAT has set up a resource center with links to many other efforts. The result is an initial summary - it traces, documents and provides initial orientation. It documents the period early of March to early May On the meta-level it can be observed that: 2020, i.e. the phase in which the COVID-19 crisis took on a global character. The paper concentrates ■ The global sustainable transport community on urban mobility, looks at the COVID-19 crisis itself, has come together very quickly, has jointly measures taken by cities and the respective developed solutions and communicated potential effects. It does not claim to be exhaustive them worldwide. or balanced, but focuses closely on sustainable ■ Learning from experiences by organizing and mobility solutions, such as public transport, cycling participating in webinars, social media and walking, shared mobility and public space communication and blogs works well. development. In doing so, we document ■ In particular public space gained in (positive) observations, facts and initial assessments. It is still perception; without high-quality space far too early for a full evaluation of the measures, physical/social distancing is not possible 1 We see that the transport systems in most cities confidence in transport measures – stakeholders in were and are able to cope with the immediate the health and transport sector and related areas challenges of the pandemic, but at the same time such as public safety, urban planning etc. must work we have seen that negative effects such as unequal more closely together. access to public transport, limited spaces for pedestrians and cyclists and often long commuting The paper is released on occasion of the TUMI TV distances for - often underpaid - frontline workers conference on May 26, 2020. We would like to thank are intensified or particularly negative in times of all frontline workers in the transport sector for their crisis. dedication to keep services running – UITP has put these workers in the focus of the Guardians of A central challenge remains the lack of knowledge Mobility campaign. about how the virus spreads in public spaces, public transport, etc. In particular, the questions of on which surfaces the virus adheres to for how long, how tightly it is spread and what protective measures are effective and necessary have not been adequately answered. Authorities and transport companies have taken different measures, sometimes with contradictory intentions or justification logic. This has confused users and the international community of experts rather than providing safety. Therefore, further epidemiological Figure 2 – COVID-19: Government Response studies are needed to ensure and increase Stringency Index, May 12, 2020 2 A crisis evolves Figure 3 - Four phases of COVID-19; Source Julieta Peruzzo As global crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic develops in Already as of March 26, 2020 about 2.6 billion 4 Phases: people (including 1.3 billion people in India alone) were under lockdown to contain the spread of the ■ Phase 1: Appearance of COVID-19 / few cases virus. Figure 2, as of May 12th, shows that most (containment) countries have imposed measures such as closure of school, workplaces, places of recreation, etc. ■ Phase 2: Community dispersal / community containment Phase 3 describes a phase of full lockdown with substantially reduced travel and phase 4 the easing ■ Phase 3: Epidemic dispersion / sustained of restrictions. Right now, in mid-May 2020, we are transmission observing a substantial easing of restrictions in many European countries, whereas other countries ■ Phase 4: Relaxation such as India and Colombia remain under lockdown. Phase 1 of the virus outbreak started with the During phases 1, 2 and beginning of 3, decision- appearance of COVID-19 in the Chinese city of makers and planners in the transport sector initially Wuhan in early January, spreading globally as focused on the role of public transport as both a pandemic in the following months. potential vector for spread of the virus and important key to support mobility of essential The lockdown of the Hubei province and Wuhan workers (the categorization of population in starting January 23, 2020 can be considered as the essential, e.g. health, security, staff at groceries, and beginning of phase 2 in China; in Europe, Italy and non-essential workers became quickly a feature of France enforced lockdowns starting early to mid- the COVID-19 crisis). March, followed by other countries. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. 3 Phases 1 and 2: Coordinated response Focus on Public In order to ensure a systematically coordinated response and effective implementation of measures by public transport companies and authorities, Transport and contagious virus or pandemic response plans shall form the basis for action and measure getting prepared implementation. In addition, all measures taken by governmental agencies and public transport companies in order to ensure safety of staff and With regard to the pathogens' ability to travel, buses passengers as well as a further spread of COVID-19 and trains are of course excellent ways of spreading shall be based on comprehensive impact of infections - the study on infection of 9 passengers assessments. Social, environmental and climate as in a long-distance bus in Hunan in January became well as economic impacts of measures shall be taken famous in this respect; the study has been retracted into account. meanwhile without giving reasons (however, we do keep it for documentary reasons). Protection of Staff, Figure 4 - How COVID-19 spread through a Hunan bus Infrastructure and Passengers Employees are the most important assets in public transport. They are therefore given special protection, both as individuals and in their function as drivers, supervisors, managers, etc. It is in the nature of things that employees in public transport In many Chinese and Indian cities such as Wuhan, have close contact with the customers, i.e. the Huanggang or Delhi, public transport was passengers. Therefore, protective measures cannot suspended in order to contain the virus. Even cover all potential risks. though the total shut down of public transport systems was and is not a measure taken by all cities International associations like the Transport which are affected by the epidemic, it is important Research Board (TRB), the American Public to systematically identify areas of action to minimize Transport Association (APTA) and the International the risks for public transport staff and passengers. Organisation for Public Transport Authorities and Operators (UITP) provide factsheets and general Cities quickly understood the need for coordinated information and monitor the situation. It is response as well as the need to protect staff, worthwhile to search on their platforms regularly infrastructure and passengers: for information. For example, APTA recommends the following measures: 4 Table 1 - APTA recommendations for preventing the spread of disease, Source: APTA (2020), Summary: A Guide for Public Transportation Pandemic Planning and Responses (NCHRP Report 769), March 2020, (https://www.apta.com/wp- content/uploads/APTA-Coronavirus-Brief-03-05-20.pdf) 5 The Shenzhen Bus Group Company has compiled a gloves/hand sanitizers) in order to secure their comprehensive report on measures and health and avoid them from being infected. experiences in the fight against the corona virus including: d) Health check-up: Regular health check-ups can support and ensure that the employees feel safe and comfortable at work as well as identify any potential infections in an early stage.