Understanding the mobility patterns of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) passengers amid COVID‐19 in Singapore using smart card data

Abstract

The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is one of the major modes of public transportation in Singapore. Understanding the mobility patterns of MRT passengers has implications for improving transportation efficiency. As a city‐state with a high population density, Singapore provides a representation of balanced urban dynamics that informs smart urban planning. In this paper, we investigated and visualized (using both static maps and dynamic web map applications) the spatiotemporal characteristics of Singapore's MRT commuting patterns before the COVID‐19 pandemic (January 2020) and during the first outbreak (May 2020) and the Omicron wave of the pandemic (February 2022), using MRT smart card data. We also investigated the relationship between the passenger flows of individual MRT stations and the nearby land use types. Our results showed that the spatial patterns of Singapore's MRT commuters match the polycentric urban structure. In addition to central areas, several regional centres were identified as passenger hotspots in multiple time periods. Furthermore, during the outbreak of the pandemic, especially in the period of the ‘circuit breaker’, there was a major decline in MRT passenger flows and a decrease in average MRT commuting distances during weekend/holiday peak hours. Lastly, correlations between passenger flows of MRT stations and the proportion of nearby land use types have been identified.