COVID-19 and public transport demand trends in Sicily: analyzing external factors and governmental recommendations
Socrates Basbas
Abstract
The year 2020 has brought changes in transport services and travel demand globally due to restrictions related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in public transport. The present work focuses on Sicily (Southern Italy). Through the elaboration and administration of an online questionnaire, a sample of 700 regular public transport users was characterized from a socio-demographic point of view, identifying their travel habits, and their opinion on governmental and public transport company initiatives. Eight (8) national government strategies were evaluated on a Likert scale, and ten (10) pandemic mitigation factors were assessed in different phases of the pandemic, highlighting which of these factors were most preferred by the sample on a hierarchical scale. The results lay the groundwork for identifying critical challenges when dealing with such severely restricted mobility conditions and suggesting improvements for public transport agencies and local authorities.