Not Returning to Normality: Transport in a Post-pandemic Future

Let us not forget the lessons we’ve learned during the quarantine and the better air quality we enjoyed during those few months. We all should be more willing to embrace a new model of transport.

by Miguel Azzopardi

Collage by the IotL Magazine

 

Let’s admit: the current  transportation model has failed in many respects. It cannot keep up with the increasing number of commuters, and roads are designed to prioritise—perhaps even glorify—car use at the expense of other means of transport. 

This transportation model assumes that people will continue relying on cars as their primary means of transport. However, by reducing both the need for using a car and the actual number of cars on the road, not only would Malta’s traffic problems be solved, but people would benefit from a cleaner environment and better health. This has been reiterated several times over the past few years, but meaningful change has not yet been achieved.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added yet another aspect to this picture: we have seen our streets devoid of cars, and major cities promote cycling and walking in ways that would have been unthinkable several months ago. Finding ways to break away from a car-dependent transportation model is more necessary than ever, especially as the risk of contagion discourages people from using public transport.

 

Pre-pandemic ‘Normality’: Unhealthy and Unsustainable

Cars take up a lot of space relative to their use since they are rarely full. As we all experience daily, they completely fill up our roads. If things simply return to pre-pandemic ‘normality’, roads and flyovers currently under construction as well as the existing ones that are being widened will become insufficient in as little as five years. By widening roads and building new ones, yet more pressure is added for urban expansion on what are already  densely populated islands with a shrinking and heavily exploited natural environment. This form of urban expansion cannot continue ad infinitum. 

Many have observed the connection between the emergence of COVID-19 and our problematic relationship with nature. Not only does human activity foster the emergence of zoonotic diseases through the  exploitation of nature and destruction of natural habitats, but air pollution is suspected of worsening the symptoms of respiratory diseases, among those COVID-19. An open letter from medical professionals to G20 nations urged action to tackle air pollution and to counter the exploitation of the environment with this reasoning in mind.

 

 

A transportation model heavily dependent on car use is an issue of public health. More people regularly die due to air pollution-related illnesses in Malta than they have from COVID-19. About 576 people die prematurely in Malta each year due to air pollution as opposed to the nine that have died from COVID-19—thanks to the public health measures taken. While this is not a straightforward comparison, the amount of people dying from air pollution-related illnesses is still staggering.

The detrimental effects of air pollution have not gone unnoticed by local health professionals and NGOs. In May, a coalition of environmental NGOs and doctors signed a statement demanding a radical reform of our transportation model on grounds of public and environmental health. If we truly care about health, reducing the use of personal vehicles should be a very high priority.

 

Post-pandemic Futures

COVID-19 has allowed people to reflect on their lifestyles and the way that mobility affects their health and the environment. Many European cities have taken this opportunity to promote a different model of transportation. In Milan, roads are being turned into cycling paths, while intersections have been transformed into public piazzas. In Paris, the government is paying for biking repairs and lessons as a way of encouraging more people to use bicycles as well as creating 650km of cycling lanes and corridors. Many other cities such as London, Athens and Berlin are also looking into ways to encourage alternative modes of transport.

Initial evidence indicates they may be successful. In early May, research suggested that 70% of people in Milan were ready to turn 35km of roads into corridors prioritising pedestrians and cyclists. If this mentality is maintained, a transportation model based on private vehicles may soon become a thing of the past. It is no longer as easy to dismiss a transportation model based on walking, cycling and public transport as unrealistic or difficult to implement.

In Malta, there was one comparable initiative announced during the pandemic, but it only emphasises how far we still need to go. The Ministry for Transport launched a project asking local councils to submit their plans that could see certain roads pedestrianised on certain days. This is a welcome step, and forty two local councils have since submitted their proposals. The lockdown and drop in car use, however, could have been an opportunity to change our mode of transport for the better more permanently.

 

 

It would be wise to follow the examples of other European cities like Milan and Paris more closely. The Maltese islands are not fit for car use because there is simply not enough space to accommodate this transportation model. Many of our roads were not designed for cars as they predated the use of private vehicles. This is particularly the case in village cores, where meandering alleyways prevail, and where the local Triq il-Kbira (Main road) is often scarcely wide enough to fit two lanes. These would be better adapted for walking or cycling, which is exactly what many European cities hit by the pandemic have been considering as alternatives.

Instead of adapting these roads for walking and cycling, the combination of narrow roads and the high (and increasing) volume of private vehicles that use them makes them extremely dangerous for all users. The high number of traffic accidents is an indication that this is not just a matter of perception. If roads do not accommodate bikes and pedestrians and heavy car usage makes them dangerous, we are forced into using  cars for safety reasons. It is not surprising that Malta’s traffic problems have become so severe. Pedestrianizing village cores is long overdue and should be permanent, while proper cycling infrastructure and cycling corridors should become a central  aspect of our transportation model.

There is another reason why cycling and walking should be made a permanent part of our transportation model as soon as possible.

While we saw our streets free from cars during the partial lockdown, traffic has more or less returned to pre-pandemic level following the reopening of the economy. However, our mobility problems may yet get worse. Fewer people now opt for public transport due to concerns about the risk of contagion. As improving public transport was an important part of the government’s strategy to improve mobility, the work of past years may quickly be set backwards as more people may shift to using private vehicles in view of the continuing spread of COVID-19.

 

 

Indeed, this was one of the reasons why cities have looked at cycling and pedestrianisation as potential alternatives. The Milan Commune’s plans for the transformation of the city specifically cites this scenario in addition to the need to move towards more sustainable models and keep levels of air pollution low. Cycling and walking allow physical distancing and alleviate the pressure from our transport networks as these forms of transport utilise less space than private vehicles. The improvements that we have made in public transport over the years will not mean much unless we tackle the broader issues of our limited mobility. 

There is an urgent need for broad public campaigns that promote the benefits of alternative means of transport in conjunction with the implementation of proper infrastructure. Local councils and central government play a significant  role in this transition.

Up until now, one of the most important obstacles for wider change in Malta is the higher social status associated with having a car. According to this view, a car is a symbol of independence and an indication of one’s success. Such conceptions of status are inevitable in a stratified, segregated society. Economic inequality is the driving force behind environmental degradation. There is evidence that people in more equal countries consume less, produce less waste and emit less carbon, on average.  

COVID-19 has affected the ways we view public spaces, but also the ways we experience them. There is a greater desire to maintain the benefits from lower levels of air pollution and enjoy public spaces but also a need to maintain forms of physical distancing in the context of the pandemic. 

 

 

In many cities, this has translated into promoting mobility through cycling and walking to make up for the reduced efficiency of public transport systems. In Malta, it is time for us to finally make these means of transport viable too. A change in outlook on publicly-beneficial mobility and a transformation of our model of transportation is indeed achievable, but only when government, local councils, NGOs and the population more generally agree that the current model is deeply flawed. 

Let us not forget the lessons we’ve learned during the quarantine and the better air quality we enjoyed during those few months. We all should be more willing to embrace a new model of transport.

Miguel Azzopardi is a history student at the University of Edinburgh and a climate activist with Extinction Rebellion Malta.