Impact of Pandemic on Public Transportation Service in Kota Kinabalu

Lillian Gungat; Dayang Russalnie Deh; Mohd. Azizul Ladin; Jodin Makinda; Elsa Eka Putri.

Transactions on Science and Technology, 9(2-2), 142 - 151.

Back to main issue

ABSTRACT
Implementation of the Movement Control Order during pandemic with new regulations is expected to have consequential destruction to all service sectors and increase the disruption risk factor for future public transportation planning. Hence, it is necessary to investigate the people's travel behaviors and perceptions related to pandemic and public transportation service as part of the impact assessment for sustainability of public transportation operation. This study was conducted in the city of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah where questionnaire surveys were distributed to respondents and results were analyzed using statistical analysis methods. The McNemar Bowker and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests proved that there are significant impacts of COVID-19 pandemic to the mobility characteristics and travel mode preference on using public transport for primary outdoor trips. The number of trips completed were significantly reduced, while the choices of transport mode were also influenced by the spread of COVID-19 whereby respondents choosing to avoid public transportation. The findings also showed differences in travel behaviors concerning demographic factors. Based on the respondent perception on pandemic COVID-19, 71% agree that probability of being infected is higher when using public transport. Hence, public transport sector needs to strictly follow the standard operating procedure during pandemic to attract more public transport usage for economic sustainability.

KEYWORDS: Pandemic; Public Transportation; Mobility; Travel Mode; Perception.



Download this PDF file

REFERENCES
  1. Abdullah, M., Dias, C., Muley, D. & Shahin, M. 2020. Exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on travel behavior and mode preferences. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 8, 100255
  2. Sánchez, K. 2020. Bogotá, desolada en el primer día de simulacro de aislamiento por el COVID-19 (https://www.vozdeamerica.com/a/bogota-desolada-primer-dia-simulacro-de-aislamiento-covid-19/5338003.html). Last accessed on 6 June 2021.
  3. Aziz, N., Othman, J., Lugova, H., & Suleiman, A. 2020. Malaysia's approach in handling COVID-19 onslaught: Report on the Movement Control Order (MCO) and targeted screening to reduce community infection rate and impact on public health and economy. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 13(12), 1823-1829.
  4. Buonanno, G., Stabile, L. & Morawska, L. 2020. Estimation of airborne viral emission: Quanta emission rate of SARS-CoV-2 for infection risk assessment. Environment international, 141, 105794.
  5. Chen, L., Ban, G., Long, E., Kalonji, G., Cheng, Z., Zhang, L. & Guo, S. 2021. Estimation of the SARS-CoV-2 transmission probability in confined traffic space and evaluation of the mitigation strategies. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(31), 42204-42216.
  6. Cheng, S.-C., Chang, Y.-C., Fan Chiang, Y.-L., Chien, Y.-C., Cheng, M., Yang, C.-H., Huang, C.-H. & Hsu, Y.-N. 2020. First case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia in Taiwan. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 119(3), 747-751.
  7. de Haas, M., Faber, R., & Hamersma, M. 2020. How COVID-19 and the Dutch ‘intelligent lockdown’ change activities, work and travel behaviour: Evidence from longitudinal data in the Netherlands. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 6, 100150.
  8. Laverty, A. A., Millett, C., Majeed, A., & Vamos, E. P. 2020. COVID-19 presents opportunities and threats to transport and health. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 113(7), 251–254.
  9. Przybylowski, A., Stelmak, S. & Suchanek, M. 2021. Mobility behaviour in view of the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic—Public Transport Users in Gdansk Case Study. Sustainability, 13(1), 364. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010364
  10. Sekaran, U. 2006. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.
  11. Shakibaei, S., de Jong, G. C., Alpkökin, P. & Rashidi, T. H. 2021. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel behavior in Istanbul: A panel data analysis. Sustainable Cities and Society, 65, 102619.
  12. Teare, M. D., Dimairo, M., Shephard, N., Hayman, A., Whitehead, A. & Walter, S. J. 2014. Sample size requirements to estimate key design parameters from external pilot randomised controlled trials: a simulation study. Trials, 15, Article number 264.
  13. Tirachini, A. & Cats, O. 2020. COVID-19 and public transportation: current assessment, prospects, and research needs. Journal of Public Transportation, 22(1), 1–21.
  14. Vickerman, R. 2021. Will Covid-19 put the public back in public transport? A U perspective. Transport Policy, 103, 95–102.