We wanted to understand what people would like to avoid at all costs, while commuting post the lockdown. So, we did a survey and got some interesting insights. Read on.
The lockdown has eased up a little and we have begun to resume our normal lives, which means people have started commuting to work.
While most of us still have the privilege to continue working from home, more than half of the workforce in India has started traveling to work again. However, as safety concerns around Coronavirus are still surfacing in the current scenario, daily commute has undoubtedly been impacted to a great extent.
What does safety mean to daily commuters?
As we begin to adopt the “new normal” into our lives, safety remains the topmost priority for everyone. Commuters around the world are doing everything they can (from wearing masks and gloves to sanitizing their hands every chance they get) to minimize their chances of contraction.
In our recent survey, we asked commuters what they would avoid at all costs while commuting post-lockdown to understand their convenience. Here’s what we found:
Social Distancing likely to become the norm in our world of commute:
As we predict the future of daily commute, a substantial question arises for all of us– How long is Social Distancing here to stay?
A paper, published in the journal Science, concludes that intermittent social distancing will be required up until 2022. The study also indicates that this one-time lockdown won’t be adequate to regulate the spread of this pandemic. If restrictions aren’t continued, secondary peaks could be larger than the current one, as suggested by experts.
With that being said, Indian public transportation systems will definitely need to undergo a complete overhaul during this period in order to cater to commuters while ensuring their safety. Metro and Railway commissions in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai have already started strategizing ways to ensure the safety of commuters.
However, current public transport infrastructure cannot meet this new demand of ensuring social distancing, and it is unrealistic to expect everybody to have access to a private vehicle. Encouraging cycles, e-bikes, and walking as commute options is imperative as well. These solo commute options naturally offer people the advantage of social distancing, while being affordable. This would also serve as an easy solution for many citizens who have already been hit hard by the economic crisis.
Will commute change forever?
While this pandemic has posed a variety of different challenges for us, it has definitely offered an opportunity to reinvent transit systems, according to transportation and public-health experts. Cities around the world are working towards reimagining their mobility services by recycling their streets and using them as testing grounds for this new development. Mexico City, Budapest and Bogota along with cities like Brussels and New York, are converting substantial part their city streets into cycling lanes to offer a safe alternative to commuters.
The Indian transit systems will soon revive as well. Creative thinking, strategic investments put together with the adoption of new technologies and physical infrastructure can benefit both, our everyday commuters, and the mobility sector. An evolution that is required for a more sustainable future.