COVID-19 has completely revised the way we view urban transport. Lockdowns’ across the world have placed varying levels of restrictions upon the countries and the movement across cities has reached a dramatic low. Pre-COVID-19, we were in the process of transforming from private transport to public, something that has been vehemently fought for and has been on the agenda for years, and now this pain staking work is being unpicked. People seek to avoid crowds as much as possible and therefore public transport and shared / connected forms of mobility have seen an enormous decrease. This has got many considering if this could be the early grave of the new urban-mobility ecosystem that has been growing.
Public transport has taken a serious blow. In an attempt to help restore usage, and faith, in public transport many cities have continued their services but attempted to increase the sanitisation efforts, such as making staff and passengers wear masks and disinfecting high-touch areas on a regular basis.
Ride-hailing operators have suspended their services and have asked their remaining operators to increase their cleaning measures. China, for example, had ride hailing company, DiDi put protective sheets in their vehicles between the driver and passenger seats.
The outbreak has led many scooter sharing schemes to temporarily remove their services. Bird, for example, has laid off 30% of its work force as a result. Bicycle sharing schemes are proving resilient but we still have a long way to go. Private car usage has reduced, but not to the same extent as public transport, however this is likely because there is nowhere to go!
A survey of 5,000 people conducted by Boston Consulting Group found that keeping a physical distance away from others and general vehicle cleanliness are among the top criteria for selecting their transport options. This survey indicated that pooled ride-hailing and public transport were considered the riskiest while private mobility options were considered the safest. These results are obviously representative of the current outbreak climate and it is responsible to note that cost still remained an important factor, and is likely one of the factors which may eventually bring more users back to ‘high risk’ public transport.
The negative viewpoint of public transport is likely to subside when COVID-19 treatments are available however it is likely a significant portion of society will be unlikely to return to public mobility and will shift toward private modes; private cars, bikes, scooters and walking.
BCG supports these claims with evidence collected from Shenzhen, China where traffic congestion has almost returned back to 2019 levels, while the metro used is 34% below the 2019 levels in the fourth week after lockdown has been lifted.
The classic commute may be a thing of the past once the country returns to work after lockdown. Social distancing might become a part of our daily life and transport features. It is especially a problem for workers in London. One report warns that attempting to maintain a 2m distance between passenger on the Tube in would reduce its capacity to 15% of normal levels, and buses to 12%. However would our road infrastructure cope with increase private vehicle usage? What is the best solution?
Electric scooters are a potential option with cities across Europe such as Paris and Milan successfully seeing their implementation. E-scooters are ideal for short journeys with E bikes the more suitable alternative for longer journeys. With the increase in consumer demand it is only logical that the government will have to properly legislate electric scooters by introducing necessary safety precautions such as high-vis clothing, a helmet and a minimum wheel size to tackle the UK’s (many) potholes. With appropriate legislation this might even cause a decline in the shared scooter model as consumers are likely to move toward private ownership over communal shared schemes unless strict sanitisation policies can be put into place.
With recent comments suggesting that the tube might be closed in the near future, now is the perfect time to look for an alternative form of transport and electric bikes are looking like the perfect option. With the ability to assist you for many miles and give you that extra boost of speed you need when you're running late for your meeting, an e bike is the logical choice.
You can view our range of electric bikes here