Re-open our city and campus post-Covid: A case study of Trinity college Dublin, the University of Dublin

• Published in: Case studies on transport policy Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 616 - 625
• Main Authors: Caulfield, Brian, Browne, Sarah, Mullin, Martina, Bowman, Sarah, Kelly, Clare
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2021
• ISSN: 2213-624X; 2213-6258
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cstp.2021.02.016

•An overview of staff and student preferences for post Covid travel.•A detailed case study of how University and city authorities are working together.•Qualitative and quantitative analysis of a large staff and student sample.•Examples of how active modes may become more prevalent. Dublin, Ireland, like most other large cities has undergone lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Ongoing physical distancing requirements, as cities reopens, has resulted in a collapse to transit’s capacity and ability to meet demand, forcing authorities to reimagine how people can travel in a pandemic/post-pandemic world. For Dublin, campaigns have focused on encouraging those who can walk or cycle to use active transport options if they are close enough to their place of employment, when the city fully reopens. The purpose of this is to ensure adequate physical distancing can occur while alleviating the pressure on public transport systems, thereby freeing up space for those who are unable to commute via active transport and for those beyond a range in which it is feasible. Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin (TCD) is located in the city centre of Ireland’s capital. Since less than 1% of staff drive to the campus and students arenot permitted to park on the campus, the University community has been working with Dublin City Council (DCC) to advance planning and built environment interventions to enable staff and students to safely return to work and education. This paper presents the results of the “Commuting to Trinity while Covid-19 Social Distancing is Required” Travel Survey for TCD students and staff, conducted in June and July 2020 (n = 2653). Conducted to determine how staff and students would like to travel to TCD, when the campus fully reopens, it identifies which factors influence their mode choice and choice of working locations. The Trinity University campus makes for an interesting case study as it allows us to understand how the reopening of a major employment, educational and cultural site within an urban area, which is primarily served by transit and active transport, can address physical distancing restrictions and decreased capacity of public transport.