Covid-19 putting the brakes on mobility? It's the opposite, really

EVERYONE has a memory of how Covid-19 began. For Gojek Singapore, it was when we started distributing masks, wet wipes and hand sanitisers to driver-partners in late January, in a bid to create a safer ride environment and to stay ahead of the virus.

Much has happened since then, and key among the myriad of things Covid-19 has or disrupted is mobility - the ability to move about freely and easily. Lockdowns, travel restrictions and a reduced number of entry points to buildings are just some of the ways human movement has been crimped in the name of flattening the curve and slowing down the virus's spread, to give healthcare services critical manoeuvring space to better manage patients.

But to contend that the pandemic has all but ground mobility to a halt is to be hasty, for it rejects the gains the pandemic brings to mobility, and more broadly, transportation and travel behaviour.