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\begin{document}

\title{Transportation in the Face of Communicable Disease}



\author[1]{Beth Ewoldsen}%
\affil[1]{Transportation Research Board}%


\vspace{-1em}



  
  \date{May 22, 2024}


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Support for transportation planning and systems during the Coronavirus
outbreak.\\%
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\textbf{Transportation in the Face of Communicable Disease}

Beth Ewoldsen

Content Strategist Transportation Research Board The National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine~ 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington,
DC 20001

bewoldsen@nas.edu

If you work in the transportation industry, you are probably working
through stages of your plan for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
After all, part of the service you provide depends on the ability to
keep people safe and healthy regardless of their travel plans.

Bernalillo County Public Works Division in New Mexico prepares through
active planning and exercises that are funded through their regular
operating budget. Research published in the peer-review
journal,\emph{Transportation Research Record} (TRR) looks at their
systems in place. Basing their plan on analysis from the 1918 influenza
pandemic, they plan for difficult choices among determining essential
staff and clearly redefining roles for all personnel including political
appointees, janitorial staff, civil engineers, field technicians, and
clerical staff. The county is committed to intergovernmental cooperation
and planning exercises showed essential functions could be relocated and
operational more quickly than federal and local targets. A growing list
of airlines and governments have banned international flights.
Fortunately airports, airlines, first responders, and local health
officials have been working in tandem to establish~\emph{response
strategies, effective practices, and clear communication}~to
successfully combat the challenges of travel and disease. Their
collaborations have~\emph{improved prevention, preparedness, and
response}~efforts.

Researchers have explored a bilevel decision making framework to
determine the best set of outbreak control policies, while taking local
and global outbreak dynamics into account. A case study explored a
hypothetical epidemic outbreak using the worldwide air travel network to
perfect optimization algorithms.

In regards to preventive measures, Trudy Henson, Public Health Program
Director at University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland
Security says, ``\ldots{}it's important to take measured, science-based
actions that build the public's confidence, not undermine it or create
panic.''

Henson co-authored a 2017 TRB Legal Research Digest after the Ebola
outbreak in the mid-2010s. In some cases~\emph{workers returning from
saving lives}~were quarantined in the U.S., raising legal concerns about
civil liberties. In addition to violating rights, ``Closing or
suspending transportation can make it difficult for people to get proper
medical attention---which can actually increase the spread of a virus,''
she notes. Modeling done in the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak showed
that air travel will facilitate the spread of disease in the cases of
H1N1 and SARS. Research like this shows the importance
of~\emph{collaboration between aviation and public health
authorities}~to establish preventive measures. The CDC has held health
screenings at airports in response to the current outbreak since
January. ``These screenings are very effective at raising awareness of
the outbreak, and are a great opportunity to educate travelers about
what to look for, but the efficacy is unknown, particularly given that
we are still learning about this new coronavirus,'' says Henson. Airport
and public health officials addressed key challenges facing
aviation's~\emph{role in reducing}~communicable disease transmissions.
In efforts to keep terminals and vehicles safe, many airports, bus, and
train stations, can maintain~\emph{rigorous procedures for medical
interventions}~to prevent the spread of disease to passengers and staff.
The aviation industry is not the only line of transportation defense
against health emergencies. A country's~\emph{ports of entry}~have a
special role in protecting the public's health regardless of the mode of
transportation. Even in non-emergencies,~\emph{transit ensures improved
health care}.

As telework options are increasingly available, employee mobility needs
are shifting. Coordination of regional transportation decision-making
plays an important part in promoting regional business continuity after
an emergency. Public-private partnerships, resource-sharing protocols,
and technology application all support the capability of transportation
to meet ongoing employee mobility needs so that business can continue as
usual in outstanding situations. Partnerships between airports,
airlines, and additional organizations known as~\emph{emergency working
groups allow staff to aid victims and their loved ones}~in the face of
aviation incidents resulting in injury or death. A March 23 webinar that
is free and open to all will explore~\emph{practices learned from other
disease outbreaks}. A 2020 webinar gave aviation professionals the tools
to~\emph{establish these partnerships}~at their own airports. A 2018
webinar examined the\emph{~legal issues that transit agencies}~may face
in case of an infectious disease epidemic. COVID-19 poses evolving risks
to economic activity. A TRB committee proposed changes
in~\emph{transportation funding programs in light of economic
downturns}~that would sustain spending during economic downturns and
methods for evaluating that spending.

TRB will continue to study the topic with workshops already planned
around~\emph{Effective Collaboration to Plan and Respond to Communicable
Disease Threats~}in 2020. Registration is open for the workshops in
Houston, Minneapolis, Irvine, and Washington, D.C. To take the next step
in your career, get involved with~\emph{TRB committees}~dedicated to
transportation and safety. Stay up-to-date on COVID-19 with
the~\emph{latest news and resources}~from the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Agencies and organizations can
use~\emph{TRB publications}~and~\emph{online resources}~for useful and
timely information to help address virtually any issue related to
transportation. Through its convening activities, TRB can also can help
agencies by~\emph{bringing together the brightest minds}~to discuss and
develop solutions to problems and issues facing the transportation
industry. Through its advising role, TRB can~\emph{develop policy
studies}~for agencies to use when tackling complex and often
controversial issues of national significance. TRB resources in this
article:

\begin{itemize}
\tightlist
\item
  \emph{Preparing Airports for Communicable Diseases on Arriving
  Flights}
\item
  \emph{Airport Roles in Reducing Transmission of Communicable Diseases}
\item
  \emph{Respecting, Enabling, and Involving All Personnel in a
  Sustainable Continuity of Operations Plan} (TRR)
\item
  \emph{Intergovernmental Cooperation in Benchmarking a Local Government
  Continuity-of-Operations Exercise} (TRR)
\item
  \emph{Public Transit Emergency Preparedness Against Ebola and Other
  Infectious Diseases: Legal Issues}
\item
  \emph{Germs on a Plane: The Transmission and Risks of Airplane-Borne
  Diseases}~(TRR)
\item
  \emph{ACRP Insight Events}
\item
  \emph{A Guide for Public Transportation Pandemic Planning and
  Response}
\item
  \emph{Cost-Benefit Analysis of Providing Non-Emergency Medical
  Transportation}
\item
  \emph{Effective Collaboration to Plan and Respond to Communicable
  Disease Threats}
\item
  \emph{Multiscale Network Model for Evaluating Global Outbreak Control
  Strategies}, TRR
\item
  \emph{Integrating Measures for Business Continuity and Transportation
  Demand Management to Ensure Regional Emergency Preparedness and
  Mobility}, TRR
\item
  \emph{Emergency Working Groups at Airports}
\item
  \emph{TRB Webinar: Let's work together: Airport emergency working
  groups}
\item
  \emph{TRB Webinar: Emergency Preparedness Against Infectious Diseases
  on Public Transit}
\item
  \emph{Transportation Investments in Response to Economic Downturns}
\end{itemize}

Additional TRB activities regarding transportation and disease:

\begin{itemize}
\tightlist
\item
  \emph{Airport Response During Communicable Disease Outbreaks}
\item
  \emph{Airport Public Health Preparedness and Response: Legal Rights,
  Powers, and Duties}
\item
  \emph{Infectious Disease Mitigation in Airports and on Aircraft}
\item
  \emph{Quarantine Facilities for Arriving Air Travelers: Identification
  of Planning Needs and Costs}
\item
  \emph{Legal Issues in Public Transit Emergency Planning and Operation}
\item
  \emph{Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery in the Transit
  Industry}
\item
  \emph{TRID Transportation Research Database indexed with communicable
  disease}
\item
  \emph{The Vector-Borne Disease Airport Importation Risk Tool}
\end{itemize}

By\emph{Beth Ewoldsen}/Transportation Research Board

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