One of the sectors most affected by the pandemic has been public transport, identified at the beginning as a source of contagion due to crowds of travelers, a statement that science has denied with numerous studies. Two years later, many people remain afraid of subways, trains and buses, which have not yet recovered the passenger figures of 2019. In this context, Khalid Alhogail (Medina, Saudi Arabia; 59 years old) took the lead in 2021 the International Union of Public Transport (UITP), the most important organization in the sector, which brings together 1,900 companies in a hundred countries. Alhogail, who replaced the Catalan Pere Calvet, acknowledges that the last two years have been “the most difficult” for collective urban transport, but also highlights that the health crisis has accelerated its technological development.
Ask. How has the pandemic affected public transport in the world?
Answer. The pandemic had good and bad things. The bad ones had to do with the fact that we lost very valuable people; among the good ones is that it accelerated our technology: we have found ourselves with an acceleration of technological development, because now our lives have begun to be more digitized. Many transport operators expected that the technology we have now would arrive in 2024 or 2025. Public transport is made to connect people, but the pandemic dictated that there had to be interpersonal distance. If public transport is reduced, it has consequences for air pollution and for the reduction of the carbon footprint in cities.
P. Have these two been the worst years for public transportation in decades?
R. Without a doubt, 2020 and 2021 have been the worst years for public transport in the last hundred years. Since the invention of the wheel, the automobile and the train, transportation technology has been improving, always looking for ways to improve efficiency, safety, and ways to reduce the time people lose when they move. But the pandemic came and froze all mobility. The people stayed on the ground. It was a hard blow. One of the hardest hit sectors was public transport and another, tourism. Both have fairly large fixed costs and fairly small variable ones. You can imagine how this has affected the operators and the people who are there to ensure that public transport is used. We would like to rebuild trust.
P. What did the reductions in mobility translate into?
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R. Around 90% of public transport was reduced during the pandemic, including 100% right at the start. And then, gradually, according to statistics, its use increased: in some countries it is between 30% and 35%. [respecto al uso anterior], others have reached half, some are two-thirds, and others are already fully recovered. These differences are based on the health situation and the decisions of politicians, as we have seen in the United Kingdom, where they have gone from extreme to extreme, first with an excess of protocols and now with a total opening in which they say: “ We have to live with this.” Public transport will always be at the mercy of the decisions of politicians and the vision of the media. We need it to be seen as a part of our lives, just like electricity, the telephone and all the things that are basic.
P. Many people have become afraid of public transport during the pandemic. How to get them back on the subway and buses?
R. Public transport was the first to communicate to the transport ministers that they should incorporate the use of masks. We want users to come, but to protect themselves. At first, many people decided to walk to work. Walking has always been the first means of transportation, but they were walking more and more because they wanted to keep their distance. There was also an increasing use of bicycles and motorcycles, which in the last two years have been used more than ever. Transport regulations were also adapted. And part of what was done in our sector was to take hygiene measures and develop systems in which it was not necessary to touch anything with your hands. With this we try to restore confidence in public transport, although there are things that are not in our hands, such as health measures and acceptance by society.
P. How are we now?
R. Little by little we are returning to the figures of 2019. Of course it will take a little more time, and we will lose perhaps 10% of travelers, for a simple reason: people have changed. We have to work with this in mind. What can we do to win over those people? On the one hand, there is psychology, we investigate many aspects of transport: distancing, hygiene, how to have fewer people. In the end we have to maintain public transport so that we can continue living in the city. If we abandon public transport, we will encourage the use of private vehicles, there will be more traffic jams, more carbon dioxide emissions [CO₂]… We believe that maybe in 2023 we will be back to how we were before. In some places, demand has even recovered faster than expected. In others, however, it goes more slowly. We will not be 100% in this 2022, but at least, we are already on the way to recovering the figures.
P. Spain is implementing low emission zones in 150 cities. Can this help boost public transport?
R. Of course, public transport is very committed to the measures of the COP26 and it is necessary to participate in a flexible way. We know that 26% of CO₂ emissions come from transport. Therefore, the fact that the Spanish Government implements all these measures to increase the control of CO₂ emissions is appreciated.
P. Many transport companies suffer financial problems due to the drop in passengers. Do administrations understand the importance of public transport?
R. Yes. This is a message that needs to be passed on. Public transport is not a choice, but a necessity. We should not look at public transport as an option, but as something that we have to use so that we can continue to live in our cities. We must bear in mind that up to 90% of the costs of public transport are fixed: you cannot sell coaches or buses, you cannot fire those who drive them. During the pandemic, no one told them to “go home”. They did a great job of providing transportation to those who worked: nurses who went to hospitals, public services… All these people used means of transportation. The fleets were ready, but their use was controlled by governments. They used 10% or 15% or 30%. All this has to be compensated to maintain the development of these companies and to prevent them from going bankrupt. As a society, we need subsidies to maintain public transportation.
P. Are electric vehicles allies of public transport?
P. Electric vehicles, when it comes to carbon footprint reduction, are part of the solution. But electric vehicles are not found everywhere. There are countries like Saudi Arabia, where 55ºC are reached, which requires greater consumption of electric batteries, so that they will not be as efficient there. In Moscow, where temperatures reach -20ºC, they are equally inefficient. We are in a transition between different types of vehicles: there are the diesels, the hybrids, the electric ones. Now we even have the option of the hydrogen fuel cell.
P. What role will mobility as a service play in the future, that is, combining and integrating different modes of transport?
R. Mobility as a service has become essential for our vital development. If today we want to improve transport, we must leave all the options to our passengers in their hands through apps. That they can choose everything: how to get the tickets, how to organize their itinerary, with the schedules, the routes, the distances, the time they want to consume. All these options will serve to make your life easier. These improvements will be an incentive to get the most out of public transport. In this way, we are glued to the real demand, so that the passenger can change what he needs and make public transport easier, faster and more efficient.
P. So, can shared motorcycles or cars be allies of public transport?
R. Definitely. It would be necessary to determine where these shared vehicles can be used, in specific areas, because they require special infrastructure. This will help people to have more time to read, to think, all of this is in permanent development. Car sharing is part of this development: it reduces the number of cars and taxis in circulation, but algorithms are needed to determine how to pick up people in one part of the city and simplify their route to the other side. This of course will improve public transport, because it is something that integrates all means of transport, starting with the first kilometer from the starting point, which can be done on foot, or by bike, or on a motorcycle. Then you get on the bus, or get off the subway, and in all this, part of the journey can be done in a shared car. It is something that is integrated into the solution, we cannot leave shared vehicles out.
P. Can you fight climate change without public transport?
R. At the last COP in Glasgow it was said that public transport was part of the problem and it was also said that it should be part of the solution.
P. What are the most important challenges for public transport in the coming years?
R. Since the covid hit, I think the biggest challenge, both for Europe and for the rest of the world, is to make public transport survive, using technology to provide greater safety and security, and to make it easier and more efficient to save people time and also money. Saving time means less movement, less traffic and therefore less CO₂ emissions. And that you can live in our cities, where you have to reduce traffic. I have visited cities that I will not name and would seem beautiful if it were not for the insufferable traffic they have. I want to be able to enjoy beautiful cities without so much congestion.
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