Impacts of individual perceptions of emergency public transport policies on commuting intentions in the pandemic adaptation period

The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique context for examining how emergency public transport policies (EPTPs) influence public transport use. Previous studies have assessed EPTPs mainly as external measures or examined perceptions of them in aggregate, leaving unclear how judgements of individual policies shape commuting intentions and through which psychological mechanisms. This study extends the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with perceptions of three key EPTPs (mask-wearing, social distancing, and real-name registration) to examine their effect on public transport commuting intention during the pandemic adaptation period. Structural equation modeling was applied to survey data from 1,037 respondents in Shenzhen. Results indicate that positive perceptions of the three EPTPs are positively associated with commuting intentions, with total effects for mask-wearing (β = 0.158), social distancing (β = 0.153), and real-name registration (β = 0.147, all p < 0.01), mainly through attitude (β = 0.363) and perceived behavioral control (β = 0.409, both p < 0.001) rather than subjective norm. Age, car ownership, and exercise habits are also related to these perceptions and, in turn, commuting intentions. Policymakers should improve policy information sharing and tailor policies to different sociodemographic groups to support public transport recovery after emergencies.