A new perspective on public transportation systems investments after the COVID-19 pandemic effect: Bus rapid transit (BRT) for the metropolis, small & medium-scale cities

Public transport is one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and consequently public transport ridership has decreased in the ratio of 50%-90% during this period. Some of these passengers are expected not to use public transport even if the pandemic is stable. Due to the high risk of infection in public transportation and the fact that the social distance-face mask rule is not obeyed to a certain extent, new regulations in public transport should be made evident. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a high-quality public transportation system that has been widely preferred in both metropolis and medium-scale cities in recent years because of its low investment cost and short construction period. In this study, the economic effects of BRT system that is planned with the consideration of social distance according to the requirements of the pandemic were examined in terms of the country's economy and investor/operating institutions. Calculations were performed for the metropolis and small & medium-scale cities as two different types of cities. With the aim to find an urgent solution to the damaged image of public transportation due to the pandemic and the increasing traffic density, the effects of 1, 2 and 3 years of the implementation period on feasibility studies were investigated. In order to minimize the effect of the pandemic, occupancy rates during peak hours were assumed as 70%, which is the value specified for social distance in the literature, and the value of 90% used in feasibility studies. Four different scenarios were created by determining the number of passengers per square meter as 4 and 6. It was determined that the implementation period of BRT in one year could give more profitable results in terms of the country's economy and investor/operating institutions for both types of cities. In terms of the country's economy, it was determined that the scenario of 70% occupancy-4 passengers/m2 could be applied for both cities (the metropolis and small & medium-scale cities). In terms of operating institutions, although the scenario of 70% occupancy-4 passenger/m2 did not give profitable results for both cities, the findings have shown that this scenario could be applied by considering profitability in the country's economy. The results of this investigation show that BRT is a system that could be applied both in the metropolis and small & medium-scale cities with could be a positive influence in minimizing the spread of the pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemi etkisinden sonra toplu taþýma sistemleri yatýrýmlarýna yeni bir bakýþ açýsý: Metropol, küçük & orta ölçekli þehirler için metrobüs

COVID-19 pandemisinden en çok etkilenen sektörlerden biri de toplu taþýmadýr ve toplu taþýma kullanan yolcu sayýsý bu süreçte %50-%90 oranýnda düþmüþtür. Bu yolculardan bir kýsmýnýn pandemi stabil olduðunda bile toplu taþýma kullanmamasý beklenmektedir. Toplu taþýmada bulaþ riskinin fazla olmasý, sosyal mesafe ve maske kuralýna belirli oranda uyulmamasýndan dolayý toplu taþýmada yeni düzenlemelerin belirlenmesi gerekmektedir. Metrobüs, düþük yatýrým maliyeti ve kýsa yapým süresi sayesinde son yýllarda hem metropol hem de orta ölçekli þehirlerde yaygýn olarak tercih edilen yüksek kaliteli bir toplu taþýma sistemidir. Bu çalýþmada, pandemi koþullarýna göre sosyal mesafe dikkate alýnarak planlanan metrobüsün ülke ekonomisi ve yatýrýmcý/iþletmeci kurumlar açýsýndan ekonomik etkileri incelenmiþtir. Hesaplamalar metropol ve küçük & orta ölçekli þehirlere göre iki ayrý þehir tipi için yapýlmýþtýr. Pandemiden dolayý toplu taþýmanýn kaybettiði imaja ve artan trafik yoðunluðuna acil çözüm bulunmasý amacýyla öncelikle 1, 2 ve 3 yýllýk yapým süresinin fizibilite çalýþmalarýna etkisi araþtýrýlmýþtýr. Pandeminin etkisini en aza indirmek için yoðun saatlerde doluluk oranlarý, literatürde sosyal mesafe için belirtilen % 70 ve fizibilite etüdlerinde kullanýlan %90 olarak alýnmýþtýr. Metrekare baþýna yolcu sayýsý ise 4 ve 6 olarak belirlenerek dört farklý senaryo oluþturulmuþtur. Her iki þehir türü için de ülke ekonomisi ve yatýrýmcý/iþletmeci kurumlar açýsýndan metrobüsün bir yýlda yapýlmasýnýn daha uygulanabilir sonuçlar verebileceði belirlenmiþtir. Ülke ekonomisi açýsýndan, % 70 doluluk-4 yolcu/m2 senaryosunun iki þehir için (metropol ve küçük & orta ölçekli þehirler) de uygulanabileceði belirlenmiþtir. Ýþletmeci kurumlar açýsýndan, % 70 doluluk-4 yolcu/m2 senaryosunun her iki þehir için de kârlý sonuçlar vermese de ülke ekonomisindeki kârlýlýk düþünülerek uygulanabileceði tespit edilmiþtir. Bu araþtýrmanýn sonuçlarý, metrobüsün hem metropollerde hem de küçük & orta ölçekli þehirlerde uygulanabilen ve pandeminin yayýlmasýný en aza indirmede olumlu etkisi olabilecek bir sistem olduðunu göstermektedir.