CORONA

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL PLANNING
INTEGRATED URBAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
GRP 302
INDEX NO: SS/GRP/17/0067
QUESTION: DISCUSS HOW THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS AFFECTING URBAN

TRANSPORTATION IN THE WORLD.
The coronavirus also known as COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered
coronavirus. It is a type of virus known to cause respiratory infections in humans. The virus is
spread through the air by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact and touching
contaminated object or surfaces. Transport refers to the movement of humans, animals and goods
from one location to another. Urban transport basically deals with transportation in urban areas.
The novel corona virus surfaced in the beginning of 2020 and as of early April, African countries
Implemented a number of public health measures, including bans on public gathering, increased
health screening at ports and physical distancing in public transport. Measures to fight COVID-
19 have caused severe economic and social impacts on many sectors. The pandemic has greatly
affected mobility in the word.
Firstly, the coronavirus has led to the low patronage of public transportation. Public transport is a
system of transport or a form of travel offered locally, that enables people to travel together
along designated routes. Public transport consists of varieties of modes such as busses, taxies and
trains. This used to be one of the most economically efficient type of travel but was considered
unsafe when the coronavirus surfaced. This is due to the fact that public transport carries a large
number of people at a time and the virus spreads through physical contact. The number of public
transport trips taken in African cities decreased by an average of 40% in April 2020 as compared
to the pre-COVID era. For instance, instead of a work bus to transport all worker in one bus to
work, the workers would prefer taking their private cars to work to prevent them from
contracting the virus.
For the more, the spread of the coronavirus has led to a reduction in traffic congestion is a
condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip time and increased
vehicular queueing. This is usually caused by an increase in road users. Traffic collision also
known as motor vehicle collision occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle,
pedestrian, animal or stationary object like a tree. These car accidents mostly occur when there
are a lot of vehicles using the road. Due to the presence of the coronavirus, people have
restrained from travelling which has reduced the number of vehicles and pedestrians using the
road, automatically leading to the reduction in car crushes. Reports from the National Road
Safety Authority revealed that road traffic crashes have declined by 14% in the first five months
of the year 2020 as compared to the 2019 figures. There is no doubt that this is as a result of the
emergence of the coronavirus. For example, before the coronavirus pandemic, there was always
news of Accra accidents but when we rarely hear about road accidents these days.
Lastly coronavirus has brought a negative impact on the job of the transport sector workers. Due
to the rise of the novel coronavirus, people now choose other modes of transport other than
public transport and this is negatively affecting the jobs of bus conductors, drivers and other
transport sector workers. Also, the social distancing measures that have been put in place has
resulted in a steep short fall in fare revenue. In the sense that taxi drivers were supposed to take
three passengers instead of their regular four passengers due to the COVID-19 social distancing
protocol. Even though drivers were obliged to reduce the number of passengers, they were
expected to take the same fare as during the pre-COVID era. This led to some transport operators
negotiating for an increment in transport fares.
The coronavirus has affected lots of sectors like the health, education and transport sectors not
just in Ghana but globally. In the transport sector, it has had a negative impact on jobs, caused a
decline in public transport, decrease in road accidents and many more. Even though it would be a
gradual and really tough process, measures are being put in place to restore things to the way
they used to be before the emergence of the coronavirus.
REFERENCES
1. World Health Organization. Coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in Malaysia.

2. S. Melissa Conrad. (2018). Medical definition of coronavirus.
3. F. Baruch (2020). Mass transit after COVID-19.
4. P. Robert (2017). The transport world after COVID-19.
5. S. Kenneth. Urban transportation. www.econlib.org.

CORONA

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CORONA

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

CORONA

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

INDEX NO: SS/GRP/17/0067

QUESTION: DISCUSS HOW THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS AFFECTING URBAN

1. World Health Organization. Coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in Malaysia.

You might also like