What to Know
- A recent NYU study found no evidence of city-level transit ridership and the high spread of contagious respiratory diseases.
- The study, which was published in the PLOS ONE research journal, was conducted amid a concern about the role of public transit use in the spread of COVID-19, although the study itself does not directly deal with coronavirus.
- “Scientists believe that COVID-19 spreads in a very similar way to influenza. To the extent that’s true, this study, consistent with several others that have looked at COVID-19 in other countries, points to the possibility that public transit has not been an important contributor to COVID-19 spread,” said Glied, the dean of NYU Wagner and a health economist.
A recent NYU study found no evidence of city-level transit ridership and the high spread of contagious respiratory diseases.
Looking into influenza and pneumonia death rates, as well as transit use, a team of New York University researchers found that local rates of national public transportation ridership in 121 cities are not significantly associated with the prevalence of viral respiratory diseases.
The study, which was published in the PLOS ONE research journal, was conducted amid a concern about the role of public transit use in the spread of COVID-19, although the study itself does not directly deal with coronavirus.
NYU researchers examined U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data on death rates from influenza and pneumonia from 2006 to 2015 and studied surveys that measured the proportion of adults who commute for at least an hour daily on public transit.
The study found that transit-dependent cities where public transit use is common do not have higher influenza and pneumonia rates than cities where hardly anyone uses public buses and subways. According to the data compiled in the study, New York City, where 57 percent of adults use public transportation, the transit was not a significant factor in mortality rates where influenza or pneumonia was the underlying cause.
“Scientists believe that COVID-19 spreads in a very similar way to influenza. To the extent that’s true, this study, consistent with several others that have looked at COVID-19 in other countries, points to the possibility that public transit has not been an important contributor to COVID-19 spread,” said Glied, the dean of NYU Wagner and a health economist.
News
“We find no evidence of a positive relationship between city-level transit ridership and influenza/pneumonia mortality rates,” the study finds.
"In conclusion, our research does not address the question of whether, within a city, those who use public transit are at greater risk than those who do not. However, despite widespread concerns about the role of public transit in diffusing respiratory disease, our findings suggest that the rate of utilization is not a singularly important factor in the local prevalence of influenza," the study concludes.
According to the researchers, they would like to investigate the causes of spread on public transit, along with rider strategies and habits that have protected riders from respiratory illnesses in future studies.
