Just a year ago, it was normal to stand shoulder to shoulder in a packed city bus, or hop on a shared car or bike. But in a world changed by Covid-19 pandemic, those are not the ideal modes anymore to get ferried from one place to the other. As the governments throughout the world relentlessly blasting out cautions for maintaining social distancing across public spaces, mass transportations are instructed to continue to operate bellow full-capacity to adhere to the health guidelines.

However, in big cities where the public transports are packed to the brim even during this time of pandemic, instructions to keep social distancing there sound futile.

Against such backdrop, motorbikes appear as safest mode of transport, finds out a survey. The survey on “Intergenerational Perspective of Travel Behavior” conducted by researcher Shayla Jamal finds that motorcycles are the safest mode of transportation during the pandemic.

Shayla is pursuing her Phd in McMaster University in Canada now. Shayla conducted her survey over 300 people that include service holders, teachers and general citizens from multi-sectoral socio-economic classes. People from all spheres termed motorcycles as the safest mode of transportation during the pandemic.

According to the survey, 75 percent of Dhaka’s population believes that it is not possible to travel in public transportation and maintain physical/social distancing at the same time. On the other hand, very few individuals can afford a private car. Ride-sharing services available are no good option, the survey finds, as the virus can be present on seats, door handles, and can be transmitted from the driver as well.

More than 80 percent of the participants of the survey believe that it is possible to maintain social distancing and adhere to health guidelines while riding on motorcycles. The survey found that 79 percent of the participants believe motorcycles are relatively safe and risk-free vehicles to travel on during the pandemic.

A total of 84 percent of the participants feel that motorcycles are convenient vehicles and 69 percent people feel that motorcycles are an economic choice. Roughly, 33 percent of the participants have expressed their interests in buying a motorcycle by next year, the survey found out.

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