Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean city
Since the start of COVID-19 pandemic, public transport has been signalled as a potential contagion hot-spot, leading to a generalised decrease in its use. However, public transport use is still being used and little is known about how the perception of loyal users is configured in contexts of influe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198222000616 |
| _version_ | 1818470598216515584 |
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| author | Guillem Vich Aaron Gutiérrez Xavier Delclòs-Alió Josep Tomàs-Porres Daniel Miravet |
| author_facet | Guillem Vich Aaron Gutiérrez Xavier Delclòs-Alió Josep Tomàs-Porres Daniel Miravet |
| author_sort | Guillem Vich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since the start of COVID-19 pandemic, public transport has been signalled as a potential contagion hot-spot, leading to a generalised decrease in its use. However, public transport use is still being used and little is known about how the perception of loyal users is configured in contexts of influenza-like viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. The configuration of the perception of safety acquires a critical importance in urban contexts where the public transport system is used both by tourists and local users. The presence of strangers or higher crowding levels could impact the perception of safety among residents and their consequent travel behaviour. In the present study, we explored how the presence of tourists influences the configuration of the perception safety related to the transmission of COVID-19 on public transport of daily users. We used data from an ad-hoc survey conducted at the main bus stations and stops of the Tarragona Urban Area (Catalonia, Spain) between August and September 2020. This area includes the Costa Daurada coastal destination. The 2020 summer holiday season was characterised for the relaxation of mobility restrictions and the start of the second wave of COVID-19. Results show how the presence of tourists in buses negatively influenced the perception of safety of local users. However, this influence can be mostly explained to their prior perception of risk of contagion. These findings will be useful for policymakers and public transport managers in both the latter stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and future virus-related epidemics to maintain public transport ridership. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T21:39:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abd7a8aebed64337a6cb7625c66b7a6b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-1982 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T21:39:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| spelling | doaj.art-abd7a8aebed64337a6cb7625c66b7a6b2022-12-22T02:28:49ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822022-06-0114100599Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean cityGuillem Vich0Aaron Gutiérrez1Xavier Delclòs-Alió2Josep Tomàs-Porres3Daniel Miravet4Research Group on Territorial Analysis and Tourism Studies (GRATET), Department of Geography, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, SpainResearch Group on Territorial Analysis and Tourism Studies (GRATET), Department of Geography, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain; Corresponding author.Research Group on Territorial Analysis and Tourism Studies (GRATET), Department of Geography, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, SpainResearch Centre on Economics and Sustainability (ECO-SOS), Department of Economics, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, SpainConsortium of Public Transport of Camp de Tarragona, SpainSince the start of COVID-19 pandemic, public transport has been signalled as a potential contagion hot-spot, leading to a generalised decrease in its use. However, public transport use is still being used and little is known about how the perception of loyal users is configured in contexts of influenza-like viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. The configuration of the perception of safety acquires a critical importance in urban contexts where the public transport system is used both by tourists and local users. The presence of strangers or higher crowding levels could impact the perception of safety among residents and their consequent travel behaviour. In the present study, we explored how the presence of tourists influences the configuration of the perception safety related to the transmission of COVID-19 on public transport of daily users. We used data from an ad-hoc survey conducted at the main bus stations and stops of the Tarragona Urban Area (Catalonia, Spain) between August and September 2020. This area includes the Costa Daurada coastal destination. The 2020 summer holiday season was characterised for the relaxation of mobility restrictions and the start of the second wave of COVID-19. Results show how the presence of tourists in buses negatively influenced the perception of safety of local users. However, this influence can be mostly explained to their prior perception of risk of contagion. These findings will be useful for policymakers and public transport managers in both the latter stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and future virus-related epidemics to maintain public transport ridership.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198222000616Covid-19TourismPublic transportSustainable mobilitySafety perception |
| spellingShingle | Guillem Vich Aaron Gutiérrez Xavier Delclòs-Alió Josep Tomàs-Porres Daniel Miravet Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean city Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives Covid-19 Tourism Public transport Sustainable mobility Safety perception |
| title | Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean city |
| title_full | Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean city |
| title_fullStr | Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean city |
| title_full_unstemmed | Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean city |
| title_short | Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean city |
| title_sort | presence of tourists and perceived safety from covid 19 among local bus users evidence from a mediterranean city |
| topic | Covid-19 Tourism Public transport Sustainable mobility Safety perception |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198222000616 |
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