COVID-19 affects public transport as commuters switch to private vehicles: Study

NEW DELHI: An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment has revealed that public transport in the national capital has been functioning with reduced capacity of passengers since a nationwide lockdown was imposed to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the authorities introduced many curbs on travel.

According to the analysis, the capacity has declined by 73 per cent on average since March. It added that people were still cautious of using mass transit mode to commute. This, in response, led to a significant decline in the ridership of buses and the Metro.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has provided the number and specifics and reflected on the increase in the use of private vehicles, that was an alternation for the commuters. The analysis warned of a worrisome trend of commuters moving to private transportation, which will highly affect the years of work in the city to promote public transport, which will lead to traffic snarls.