scholarly journals How Public Transport affected the Propagation of Zika and Microcephaly within Rio de Janeiro early in 2015

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Armstrong ◽  
F.C. Coelho ◽  
L. Bastos ◽  
V. Saraceni ◽  
C. Lemos ◽  
...  

AbstractFrom mid-2015 to the end of January 2016, 47 cases of microcephaly were observed in the city of Rio de Janeiro, that were not due to other viral infections (syphilis, toxoplasmosis, herpes & cytomegalovirus). These children were conceived from Dec 2014 to April 2015, far too early to be explained by the officially recorded cases from October 2015 onward. Zika must have been rampant in the city from late 2014 onward. In the first half of the paper we study how the geographic spread of microcephaly cases evolved from mid-2015 to January 2016 (and hence Zika 6-9 months earlier). Cases were not evenly spread in proportion to the number of births; they were preferentially located in the northern suburbs apparently following the public transport routes, with virtually no cases in favelas and none in the southern suburbs (Zona Sul). One key difference between the transport systems in the northern and southern suburbs is that the metro & rail system in the north is above ground in the north whereas in the southern part the metro is underground with air-conditioning in carriages and forced ventilation on the platforms. The train system does not extend to Zona Sul.In the second half of the paper we postulate that the air-conditioning and ventilation prevent mosquitos from biting people who are waiting on platforms in Zona Sul. Agent-based simulations are used to test this hypothesis. After confirming this, we postulate that providing air-conditioning and/or forced ventilation on the rail-metro transport hub in the city center (Centro) would significantly delay the propagation of arboviruses in the city, possibly preventing epidemics. One advantage of this proposal is that it does not require the use of insecticides.

10.2196/21152 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e21152
Author(s):  
Kamalanand Krishnamurthy ◽  
Bakiya Ambikapathy ◽  
Ashwani Kumar ◽  
Lourduraj De Britto

Background Several countries adopted lockdown to slowdown the exponential transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. Disease transmission models and the epidemic forecasts at the national level steer the policy to implement appropriate intervention strategies and budgeting. However, it is critical to design a data-driven reliable model for nowcasting for smaller populations, in particular metro cities. Objective The aim of this study is to analyze the transition of the epidemic from subexponential to exponential transmission in the Chennai metro zone and to analyze the probability of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) secondary infections while availing the public transport systems in the city. Methods A single geographical zone “Chennai-Metro-Merge” was constructed by combining Chennai District with three bordering districts. Subexponential and exponential models were developed to analyze and predict the progression of the COVID-19 epidemic. Probabilistic models were applied to assess the probability of secondary infections while availing public transport after the release of the lockdown. Results The model predicted that transition from subexponential to exponential transmission occurs around the eighth week after the reporting of a cluster of cases. The probability of secondary infections with a single index case in an enclosure of the city bus, the suburban train general coach, and the ladies coach was found to be 0.192, 0.074, and 0.114, respectively. Conclusions Nowcasting at the early stage of the epidemic predicts the probable time point of the exponential transmission and alerts the public health system. After the lockdown release, public transportation will be the major source of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in metro cities, and appropriate strategies based on nowcasting are needed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joey Moh

<p>Transportation, an essential component of modern life, is responsible for one of the biggest growth  areas of our greenhouse gas emissions which causes problem for our environment and the economy. New  Zealand cities face the same issues as many other cities in the globalised world. This thesis  analyses the integration of all the public transport systems to encourage people to get out of the  car and reduce the traffic volume within the city centre to develop with the aim of developing a  sustainable city towards the future. Drivers in New Zealand believe commuter stress could be  significantly reduced by improving public transport. The design calls for a new central transport  interchange for all the public transport systems within Christchurch city to form a spectacular  gateway to the city. The aim of the design is to create a unified urban structure in which diverse  infrastructural and public elements merge together to form one building. The outcome of this research identifies a strong future for a public transport interchange, but  states that its physical and organisational form needs to be re-established. It finds that  technology and architecture offer new opportunities useful for reinterpreting the typology. The  thesis concludes that future public transport interchanges will become hybrids of activity, and  places where the threads of urban life are joined together. The interchanges can become a major  catalyst of urban regeneration - a focus for commerce and the flow of ideas as well as the movement of people.</p>


Author(s):  
Tatenda Mbara ◽  
Smart Dumba ◽  
Tapiwa Mukwashi

Cities in the developing world are growing both geographically and demographically. Thisgrowth has increased pressure on services, including the public transport systems used bythe majority of people. In the last two decades public transport provision has undergoneconsiderable changes. Concomitant to these changes there has been debate on the formof public transport to be operated. Such debate has been informal, general, and at timesacademic, and therefore not able to provide substantive understanding of the views of keystakeholders. Zimbabwe has had an explosion of informal transport activity in the formof minibuses, and decision makers appear to be in a policy dilemma because of a need tostrike a balance between maximising passenger welfare whilst protecting the livelihoods ofindigenous minibus operators and striving to build an efficient and environmentally soundurban transport system. Critical questions for policy dialogue in this conundrum include,inter alia: How do stakeholders perceive the current public transport system? How can publictransport be sustainably provided? This study seeks to answer these questions using a casestudy of Harare. A qualitative research approach blended with some quantitative aspects wasused. Initial steps involved the identification and clustering of key urban public passengertransport stakeholders, followed by structured and unstructured interviews. Although thereis lack of consensus on the form of public transport that the City of Harare should adopt, thereis a strong view that a mass transit system is the backbone of sustainable public transport.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Joey Moh

<p>Transportation, an essential component of modern life, is responsible for one of the biggest growth  areas of our greenhouse gas emissions which causes problem for our environment and the economy. New  Zealand cities face the same issues as many other cities in the globalised world. This thesis  analyses the integration of all the public transport systems to encourage people to get out of the  car and reduce the traffic volume within the city centre to develop with the aim of developing a  sustainable city towards the future. Drivers in New Zealand believe commuter stress could be  significantly reduced by improving public transport. The design calls for a new central transport  interchange for all the public transport systems within Christchurch city to form a spectacular  gateway to the city. The aim of the design is to create a unified urban structure in which diverse  infrastructural and public elements merge together to form one building. The outcome of this research identifies a strong future for a public transport interchange, but  states that its physical and organisational form needs to be re-established. It finds that  technology and architecture offer new opportunities useful for reinterpreting the typology. The  thesis concludes that future public transport interchanges will become hybrids of activity, and  places where the threads of urban life are joined together. The interchanges can become a major  catalyst of urban regeneration - a focus for commerce and the flow of ideas as well as the movement of people.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamalanand Krishnamurthy ◽  
Bakiya Ambikapathy ◽  
Ashwani Kumar ◽  
Lourduraj De Britto

BACKGROUND Several countries adopted lockdown to slowdown the exponential transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. Disease transmission models and the epidemic forecasts at the national level steer the policy to implement appropriate intervention strategies and budgeting. However, it is critical to design a data-driven reliable model for nowcasting for smaller populations, in particular metro cities. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to analyze the transition of the epidemic from subexponential to exponential transmission in the Chennai metro zone and to analyze the probability of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) secondary infections while availing the public transport systems in the city. METHODS A single geographical zone “Chennai-Metro-Merge” was constructed by combining Chennai District with three bordering districts. Subexponential and exponential models were developed to analyze and predict the progression of the COVID-19 epidemic. Probabilistic models were applied to assess the probability of secondary infections while availing public transport after the release of the lockdown. RESULTS The model predicted that transition from subexponential to exponential transmission occurs around the eighth week after the reporting of a cluster of cases. The probability of secondary infections with a single index case in an enclosure of the city bus, the suburban train general coach, and the ladies coach was found to be 0.192, 0.074, and 0.114, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Nowcasting at the early stage of the epidemic predicts the probable time point of the exponential transmission and alerts the public health system. After the lockdown release, public transportation will be the major source of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in metro cities, and appropriate strategies based on nowcasting are needed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 2969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordan Stojić ◽  
Dušan Mladenović ◽  
Olegas Prentkovskis ◽  
Slavko Vesković

In free market conditions, if public passenger transport services are commercially unprofitable, there will be no interest for transport companies to perform them. However, directly because of the citizens’ interests, on the one hand, and indirectly because of the economy, passenger public transport services have become of a general public interest. The authorities must prepare appropriate legal fair market conditions, based on which public transport will be subsidized and conducted. In order to achieve that, for the mutual benefit of the public, users and transport companies, it is necessary that the right Public Service Obligation Model (PSO model or in some literature PCS—Public Service Compensation) be defined. Within this study, the optimal approach to assigning a PSC contract to transport companies for performing the PSO in integrated and regular public passenger transport systems is determined. A novel model, presented in this paper, can help national, regional and local authorities to choose and determine the way and level of PSCs for conducting the public transport of passengers and establishing a sustainable public passenger transport system.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Henrique Moreas Pereira ◽  
David Banister ◽  
Tim Schwanen ◽  
Nate Wessel

The evaluation of the social impacts of transport policies is attracting growing attention in recent years. Yet, this literature is still predominately focused on developed countries. The goal of this research is to investigate how investments in public transport networks can reshape social and geographical inequalities in access to opportunities in a developing country, using the city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) as a case study. Recent mega-events, including the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, have triggered substantial investment in the city’s transport system. More recently, though, bus services in Rio have been rationalized and reduced as a response to a fiscal crisis and a drop in passenger demand, giving a unique opportunity to look at the distributional effects this cycle of investment and disinvestment have had on peoples’ access to educational and employment opportunities. Based on a before-and-after comparison of Rio’s public transport network, this study uses a spatial regression model and cluster analysis to estimate how accessibility gains vary across different income groups and areas of the city between April 2014 and March 2017. The results show that recent cuts in service levels have offset the potential benefits of newly added public transport infrastructure in Rio. Average access by public transport to jobs and public high-schools decreased approximately 4% and 6% in the period, respectively. Nonetheless, wealthier areas had on average small but statistically significant higher gains in access to schools and job opportunities than poorer areas. These findings suggest that, contrary to the official discourses of transport legacy, recent transport policies in Rio have exacerbated rather than reduced socio-spatial inequalities in access to opportunities. These results also suggest that future research should consider how the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) can influence the equity assessment of transport projects.


Author(s):  
M. I. Rodriguez-Laiton ◽  
H. A. León-Vega ◽  
E. Upegui

Abstract. The following article describes the implementation of a methodology for the structural reconstruction of the Heroes monument and the statue on the north side of Simon Bolivar Ecuestre located between the intersection of the north highway and 80th Street in Bogota (Colombia) from the acquisition of SFM photogrammetry methods and images, using low-cost sensors for this process and making use of drones from the obtaining of frames of a video to for areas with lower altimetric reach, and thereby creating an analysis in their accuracy, sizing and quality within the framework of appropriation and documentation of the cultural assets in the public space of the city Bogotá taking this data as a starting point for future developments in the process of 3D reconstructions Colombia.


2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Monzon ◽  
Sara Hernandez ◽  
Rocio Cascajo

One of the main problems in urban areas is the steady growth in car ownership and traffic levels. Therefore, the challenge of sustainability is focused on a shift of the demand for mobility from cars to collective means of transport. For this purpose, buses are a key element of the public transport systems. In this respect Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) systems help people change their travel behaviour towards more sustainable transport modes. This paper provides an assessment methodology which evaluates how RTPI systems improve the quality of bus services performance in two European cities, Madrid and Bremerhaven. In the case of Madrid, bus punctuality has increased by 3%. Regarding the travellers perception, Madrid raised its quality of service by 6% while Bremerhaven increased by 13%. On the other hand, the users´ perception of Public Transport (PT) image increased by 14%.


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