The Impact of COVID-19 on Mobility and Congestion

doi:10.1596/1813-9450-10351

Publication:
The Impact of COVID-19 on Mobility and Congestion

dc.contributor.author	Vagliasindi, Maria
dc.date.accessioned	2023-03-14T20:27:55Z
dc.date.available	2023-03-14T20:27:55Z
dc.date.issued	2023-03
dc.description.abstract	The COVID-19 pandemic has been posing unprecedented challenges for the transport sector. Urban travel has declined all over the world, but not uniformly for all modes; public transportation has taken the hardest blow. As a result, there has been a widespread reduction in public transport ridership: according to recent estimates, passenger numbers in cities around the world have been at the peak of the pandemic down 70 to 90 percent. This paper examines the short-run economic impact of the pandemic, as well as the generic and sector-specific restrictions that were adopted to control the outbreak of the pandemic, based on a rich database tracking on a daily basis public transport usage and traffic congestion. The analysis confirms the significant impact of sector-specific restrictions and broader lockdown measures in terms of reduction in urban mobility and congestion. The analysis finds that the spread of the disease itself had an economic impact distinct from that of the lockdown measures. There are also different results on the magnitude of impact of cross-sectoral vis-à-vis sectoral restrictions on urban mobility and congestion. Whereas the magnitude of the spread of the disease is higher than the overall stringency of the lockdown, the impact of restrictions of public transit has been much greater than the spread of the disease and acts indirectly as a disincentive to move on the road. More effective safety measures, such as those related to the use of facial covering, are associated with higher use of public transport and an increase in the likelihood of low congestion. There is no evidence of intermodal competition between public transportation and road transport. In particular, the expansion of car registration has not led to a decrease in public transport mobility, but it is significantly associated with an increase in traffic congestion, particularly in mega-cities.	en
dc.identifier	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099523003092341258/IDU03a959b5c03bce0477d0ab8a0e2c422b81b7a
dc.identifier.doi	10.1596/1813-9450-10351
dc.identifier.uri	https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/39533
dc.language	English
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Policy Research Working Papers; 10351
dc.rights	CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder	World Bank
dc.subject	TRANSPORT SECTOR
dc.subject	COVID-19 IMPACT ON TRAFFIC
dc.subject	CONGESTION
dc.subject	REAL TIME INDICATORS
dc.subject	URBAN TRAVEL DECLINE
dc.subject	PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION USAGE
dc.title	The Impact of COVID-19 on Mobility and Congestion	en
dc.type	Working Paper
dspace.entity.type	Publication
okr.crossref.title	The Impact of COVID-19 on Mobility and Congestion
okr.date.disclosure	2023-03-09
okr.date.lastmodified	2023-03-09T00:00:00Z	en
okr.doctype	Policy Research Working Paper
okr.doctype	Publications & Research
okr.docurl	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099523003092341258/IDU03a959b5c03bce0477d0ab8a0e2c422b81b7a
okr.guid	099523003092341258
okr.identifier.doi	10.1596/1813-9450-10351
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum	34018462
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum	34018462
okr.identifier.report	WPS10351
okr.import.id	91
okr.imported	true	en
okr.language.supported	en
okr.pdfurl	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099523003092341258/pdf/IDU03a959b5c03bce0477d0ab8a0e2c422b81b7a.pdf	en
okr.topic	Urban Development::Transport in Urban Areas
okr.topic	Urban Development::Urban Economics
okr.topic	Communities and Human Settlements::Urban Communities
okr.topic	Urban Development::Urban Health
okr.topic	Infrastructure Economics and Finance::Infrastructure Economics
okr.unit	Chief Economist Infrastructure (INFCE)