ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 epidemic has created unforeseen effects in public transport in cities around the world, including Tampere, where a 70% decrease in the number of passengers occurred in spring 2020. The purpose of this paper is to study changes in public transport ridership, frequencies, and average fill rates during the epidemic in May 2020 compared to normal circumstances in January 2020 using map-based analysis. We used data provided by Tampere regional transport to create the public transport network and to assess the frequencies, ridership and average fill rates in different areas of Tampere. The paper presents the method used to analyze how the modified frequencies meet the decreased demand of public transport in Tampere. These results indicate that the decrease in ridership was great in almost all areas, except some eastern parts of Tampere. The frequencies were decreased in all areas but kept at a sufficient level. When analyzing fill rates, we found that the bus lines coming from east of Tampere were more crowded on average during the COVID-19 epidemic in May compared to January. In other areas, fill rates were lower. The results suggest that in Tampere, frequencies were mostly managed to maintain at a sufficient service level. However, the analyses also reveal that frequencies were not adjusted successfully in all areas with high fill rates in some routes. It is important to notice, that the public transport planners were facing a deviant situation with COVID-19 and that in future, there will be more information to help decision-making.
ABSTRACT
Transport automation is increasingly being studied from different perspectives;however, the perceptions of road haulage companies have received less attention. This study explores the views of representatives of small- and medium-sized road haulage companies on transport automation in Finland. We conducted an online survey to gather perceptions of automation, which received 254 responses from representatives of a range of different transport industries. The respondents’ views towards automation were generally negative. The overall view was that automation may not be possible for heavy vehicles in Finland due to the adverse weather and driving conditions. The perception was that road haulage automation is unlikely to occur before 2050 in Finland. The results provide valuable insight for vehicle manufacturers, technology developers, policy makers, and haulage companies. As the road haulage industry is dominated by small- and medium-sized companies, hauliers should be supported in actively implementing new technologies.
ABSTRACT
Travel and mobility have an impact on creating and maintaining wellbeing. This paper focuses on barriers recognised in wellbeing-related travel by addressing two research questions: 1) Who agree that their wellbeing would increase if they could make more trips? and 2) What are the transport-related barriers identified in making trips important to wellbeing? The analyses are based on a survey conducted in Tampere, Finland in autumn 2020. 484 responses were collected from adults aged 18 and older. The results indicate that having a car and having access to use a car play an important role in wellbeing-related travel. Having a driving licence did not have a similar effect suggesting that driving licence ownership may be more voluntary compared to car ownership or access to car. Many barriers, such as cost of travel, travel time and location of destinations, were identified by those who agree that their wellbeing would increase if they were able to make more trips compared to those who disagreed with the statement. This implies that those who think that their wellbeing could increase with more travel encounter many barriers in travel. It is noted that the survey was planned before the COVID-19 pandemic. During data collection the COVID-19 situation was stable and public transport frequencies were normal. Notwithstanding, given the COVID-19 pandemic, the results may overemphasize importance of car in making trips on wellbeing. Nevertheless, mobility choices and wellbeing are increasingly important and complex issues due to COVID-19.