Mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in mass transit using behavioural science

As societies are re-opening citizen re-enter public space and many begin commuting to work or school again. Dense cities that rely on cramped public transport, typically the economic power houses of countries, are especially at risk of a renewed acceleration of infections with COVID-19. Governments issue public guidelines such as maintaining social distance, avoiding touching surfaces that many people touch, and avoiding touching one's face. However, these guidelines are hard to follow as they require to change behaviours which are habitual and take place unconsciously. Yet there is a dearth of evidence on how to promote such behaviour change. This project will use insights from behavioural science to design and test the efficacy of interventions aimed at increasing compliance with recommended behaviours. We will collaborate with Transport for London (TfL), with support of the Department for Transport (DfT) to implement a randomised controlled trial on the London underground. We will test the effect of different communication materials on trains on reducing face and surface touching and maintaining recommended distances. We have already obtained approval from DfT and TfL for using advertising space on several lines and planned out safe ways for data collection on target behaviours. The study can be immediately implemented and results will be available after a short intervention period. The results will be scalable. We will provide reports that spell out clear and practical recommendations on how to support behaviour change in a multitude of settings.