Travel patterns have changed for good. Transport systems should, too

In auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, public-transport fares have been cut in half. In London politicians leave passive-aggressive notes on civil servants’ desks telling them to turn up for work and implore people to start going back to the office. Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, has asked bank bosses to set an example by riding the subway.

None of it seems to be working. The subway is only two-thirds as busy as it was before covid-19. Auckland’s bus system was half as busy in April as it was three years earlier. Despite fears of “carmageddon”, people have not swapped public transport for the private kind. They are simply moving around less.