Behavioral differences between young adults and elderly travelers concerning the crowding effect on public transit after the COVID-19 pandemic

After the COVID-19 pandemic, passengers' concerns about crowding on public transit vehicles has increased due to their fear of being infected. Since WHO has announced that the elderly are the most vulnerable to COVID-19, it is important to understand the impact of crowding on the elderly and provide policy implications on public transit vehicles. The aim of this study is to analyze the behavioral differences between young adults and the elderly concerning the crowded conditions on public transit with a stated preference survey in Seoul metropolitan area. Crowding multipliers are estimated to quantify the impedance on crowding based on the mixed logit model. The results indicate that the elderly are more sensitive to crowding on public transit vehicles than younger people, and subway passengers are affected more by crowding than passengers who are using other modes of transit. In addition, it is confirmed that the preference of the elderly for public transit varies according to gender, income, and the purpose of travel. These analysis results can provide implications for setting new policy directions to improve the public hygiene and comfort of elderly people when they use public transit in the post-COVID-19 world.