Sanitisation, social distancing concerns overtake punctuality for bus & rail passengers, survey

Dipak K Dash | TNN | Updated: May 12, 2020, 23:38 IST

Three in every four train and bus passengers would give priority to “hygiene, sanitization and social distancing” over “on time” travel and other aspects, according to a survey conducted by multi-modal intercity mobility platform. The survey of 20,000 respondents conducted by IntrCity RailYatri found that only 3.4% of them were concerned about the punctuality and reliability, which used to be the top priority before Covid pandemic

Three in every four train and bus passengers would give priority to “hygiene, sanitization and social distanc...Read More

NEW DELHI: Three in every four train and bus passengers would give priority to “hygiene, sanitization and social distancing” over “on time” travel and other aspects, according to a survey conducted by multi-modal intercity mobility platform.
The survey of 20,000 respondents conducted by IntrCity RailYatri found that only 3.4% of them were concerned about the punctuality and reliability, which used to be the top priority before Covid pandemic. While more than 42% of the respondents said hygiene and sanitation was the priority another 34% were more concerned about social distancing.
“The concerns for hygiene, sanitizaion and social distancing now supersede the expectations for on-time arrivals which historically has been a clear winner. Once this ends, business models will have to adapt to these customer expectations to outlast the immediate crisis,” the survey report said.
It also claimed that nearly 30% of the respondents were stranded in other cities as the lockdown was announced suddenly. The report said 31% of these respondents, who are away from their homes, wanted to return immediately while another 14% said they would wait for a couple of weeks so that the initial rush settles down.
According to the survey, nearly 71% of the respondents said they would drop leisure trips this year including planned holiday and festive travels.
Interestingly, 38% of the respondents said they were hopeful of normalcy returning in the next 2-3 months while over one-fourth respondents felt it would take long time. The rest said they will wait and watch.
The survey projected it would take another seven months to see that the normal travel to reach 70% of pre-Covid period.
Travelers are unlikely to change their mode of travel. “Since people are placing a high level of trust on the government advisories, therefore the Indian state plays a vital role in an average citizen’s view of things being ‘normal’ and hence the timing of economic recovery,” the report said.