The Gaps between Those with and without Access to Stable Public Transport is Exacerbated by COVID-19
Tokyoites, living in their train- and bus-filled metropolis, often take for granted that getting from Point A to B within the city takes no more than a few minutes of wait at the local train station or bus stop. Even in the depth of the coronavirus epidemic, the city's trains and buses have continued to run their regular schedules, with little changes beyond keeping windows open for better air circulation. Judging from half-empty trains even during what would normally be considered rush hour, revenues from collecting fares have undoubtedly seen a significant decrease, but that has not changed the operations schedules by much.
The fact that Tokyo can continue to run trains and buses every few minutes despite collapsing demand for them as more people put themselves in a self-quarantine show the financial health and public investment in public transport. The ability of Japanese public transport companies to diversify into retail, real estate, and other businesses that see value-added from convenient access to frequent public transport ensure that collapse in train and bus fares does not equate to financial ruin for their operators.
However, the premise of the diversified portfolio of a Japanese public transportation firm is access to both investment opportunities and financial resources, something that small independent public transport providers in the developing world do not have. For owners of a few buses in a place like the Philippines, where long-distance buses do not follow rigid schedules and only leave when full, there is little spare cash to diversify business in the best of times. And when COVID-19 makes it difficult to fill those buses completely, independent public transport providers can quickly lose their livelihood.
And the financial situation of independent public transport operators in the developing world is made even more precarious by the disruptions in global supply chains that they need to keep their buses and vans running. While manufacturing powerhouses of East Asia and Europe can rely on locally sourced parts to keep vehicles running, sub-Saharan Africa, without a viable local automobile industry, relies on parts shipped in from thousands of miles away. Comparatively expensive at the best of times, these crucial parts have become difficult to obtain at any price as borders close and trade volumes decline during the raging pandemic.
Indeed, with COVID-19 fears growing, even as trains and buses in places like Tokyo carry on with heavy losses in fares, public transport quickly unravels in parts of the world where it is not delivered by large private firms or government agencies. Cheaper public transport options, including large buses and vans running fixed routes, are less financially feasible to run as people are unwilling to squeeze into their densely packed and poorly ventilated spaces. The alternative, shared or individually hired taxis, are too expensive for many people trying to get to work and home daily.
It is all the more unfortunate that the developing world is disproportionately facing the collapse of affordable public transport options. While many white-collar workers in service sector-led economies of the developed world can simply take their work home with them on laptops, the menial laborers undertaking agricultural, manufacturing, and informal retail work in the cities of the developing world simply cannot make their living by staying at home. Without their own cars and other transport methods, they have to rely on public transport to get to work and feed their families.
Yet, in this dire situation for public transport in the developing world, there are opportunities today to improve transport options for the post-COVID economic rebound. One is to quicken the pace of developing institutional providers of public transport that many major urban areas in the developing world need but are sorely lacking. As independent owners of a few buses find themselves devoid of users, larger providers can swoop in and buy them out on the cheap. The resulting consolidation can strengthen the remaining providers, providing them with the assets and scale needed to provide regular, scheduled services not easily disrupted by a sudden decrease in demand.
But perhaps the bigger opportunity is a change in the mindset of policymakers in the same locales where public transport is facing the greatest challenges. COVID-19 should make government authorities realize that their previously laissez-faire attitude toward public transport that led to the proliferation of financially vulnerable firms providing erratic service does not suit cities whose economies are based on the ability of people moving around quickly and cheaply. Policies that encourage or even mandate investments in more standardized public transport should be the result of this realization.
The fact that Tokyo can continue to run trains and buses every few minutes despite collapsing demand for them as more people put themselves in a self-quarantine show the financial health and public investment in public transport. The ability of Japanese public transport companies to diversify into retail, real estate, and other businesses that see value-added from convenient access to frequent public transport ensure that collapse in train and bus fares does not equate to financial ruin for their operators.
However, the premise of the diversified portfolio of a Japanese public transportation firm is access to both investment opportunities and financial resources, something that small independent public transport providers in the developing world do not have. For owners of a few buses in a place like the Philippines, where long-distance buses do not follow rigid schedules and only leave when full, there is little spare cash to diversify business in the best of times. And when COVID-19 makes it difficult to fill those buses completely, independent public transport providers can quickly lose their livelihood.
And the financial situation of independent public transport operators in the developing world is made even more precarious by the disruptions in global supply chains that they need to keep their buses and vans running. While manufacturing powerhouses of East Asia and Europe can rely on locally sourced parts to keep vehicles running, sub-Saharan Africa, without a viable local automobile industry, relies on parts shipped in from thousands of miles away. Comparatively expensive at the best of times, these crucial parts have become difficult to obtain at any price as borders close and trade volumes decline during the raging pandemic.
Indeed, with COVID-19 fears growing, even as trains and buses in places like Tokyo carry on with heavy losses in fares, public transport quickly unravels in parts of the world where it is not delivered by large private firms or government agencies. Cheaper public transport options, including large buses and vans running fixed routes, are less financially feasible to run as people are unwilling to squeeze into their densely packed and poorly ventilated spaces. The alternative, shared or individually hired taxis, are too expensive for many people trying to get to work and home daily.
It is all the more unfortunate that the developing world is disproportionately facing the collapse of affordable public transport options. While many white-collar workers in service sector-led economies of the developed world can simply take their work home with them on laptops, the menial laborers undertaking agricultural, manufacturing, and informal retail work in the cities of the developing world simply cannot make their living by staying at home. Without their own cars and other transport methods, they have to rely on public transport to get to work and feed their families.
Yet, in this dire situation for public transport in the developing world, there are opportunities today to improve transport options for the post-COVID economic rebound. One is to quicken the pace of developing institutional providers of public transport that many major urban areas in the developing world need but are sorely lacking. As independent owners of a few buses find themselves devoid of users, larger providers can swoop in and buy them out on the cheap. The resulting consolidation can strengthen the remaining providers, providing them with the assets and scale needed to provide regular, scheduled services not easily disrupted by a sudden decrease in demand.
But perhaps the bigger opportunity is a change in the mindset of policymakers in the same locales where public transport is facing the greatest challenges. COVID-19 should make government authorities realize that their previously laissez-faire attitude toward public transport that led to the proliferation of financially vulnerable firms providing erratic service does not suit cities whose economies are based on the ability of people moving around quickly and cheaply. Policies that encourage or even mandate investments in more standardized public transport should be the result of this realization.
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