Impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on the public transportation system and strategic plans to improve PT ridership: a review

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused more than 198.03 million confirmed cases around the world, and nearly 31.65 million cases are reported in India as of 1(st) August 2021. Though it is reported to have originated from one particular place, the COVID-19 is continuously spreading to various countries due to the movement of people in and around the world. For curbing the spread of the COVID-19 virus, many countries have implemented lockdown and restrictions on public mobility (except the essential goods travel) within various zones. Though this lockdown is going to limit the spread of the virus, at the same time it creates an adverse impact on the livelihood of the people and economy of the country. Despite the surge in infections, the governments of different countries have to ease out the lockdown and allow the mobility of people from one place to another place by public transportation (PT) system due to various reasons. Hence, the present study explores the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the PT system and the post-lockdown policies implemented by various countries to improve the PT ridership. Further, the study also addresses various challenges to operate the PT system and the emergency relief plans proposed by various countries to make the PT system more sustainable by integrating it with active transport modes such as cycling and walking. The discussed ease-out plans might help the policymakers to design a case-specific plan for the effective and safe operation of the PT system post-lockdown.