Exploring Changes in Public Transport Usage during the COVID-19 Pandemic using Smart Card Data: A Case Study from Hiroshima, Japan

Abstract

There was a sharp decline in public transport (PT) ridership during the pandemic. It would be worth studying the changes in PT mobility during the pandemic to deeply understand PT users’ behavior. This study contributes to the growing literature on PT-related studies based on smart card data. As a result, first, we explored the differences in the decrease in PT usage between regular and non-regular public ridership groups. Second, we confirmed a moderately higher reduction in ridership for the nonregular group than for the regular group regarding spatiotemporal dimensions. Third, few active cardholders in the non-regular group and few trips per day per cardholder in the regular group caused the ridership reduction. Finally, higher morning and afternoon traffic peaks are observed in the regular group during workdays.