The global COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a plethora of ideas for modifying and redesigning public transportation and shared mobility vehicles to protect workers and riders from contracting the disease while traveling. This research seeks to inventory these strategies, and to organize and distill them in a way that enables researchers, policymakers, and public transport and mobility service operators to more systematically and efficiently evaluate them. Through literature search and analysis, the COVID-19 risk-mitigating vehicle design (CRVD) typology was developed, articulating 12 categories of strategies (e.g., Seating Configuration, Barriers) and 12 mechanisms (e.g., physical distancing, physical separation) by which the strategies may reduce COVID-19 spread. A secondary contribution of this research is to gather opinions of experts in fields related to COVID-19 and its transmission, about the identified CRVD strategies and mitigation mechanisms. The typology and expert opinions serve as a launching point for further innovation and research to evaluate the effectiveness of CRVD strategies and their relationship to user preferences and travel behavior, within and beyond the current context. Public transport and shared mobility service operators can use the CRVD typology as a reference, in conjunction with industry guidance and emerging research on strategy effectiveness, to aid decision-making in their continued response to the pandemic as well as for future planning.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges but also unprecedented opportunities for transportation researchers and practitioners. In this article, the major lessons and gaps in knowledge for those working in the transportation sector are identified, including the following: (1) integration between public health and transportation; (2) technology to support contact tracing and tracking of travelers; (3) focus on vulnerable, at-risk operators, patrons, and underserved members of society; (4) re-engineering of travel demand models to support social distancing, quarantine, and public health interventions; (5) challenges with Big Data and information technologies; (6) trust relationships between the general public, government, private sector, and others in disaster management; (7) conflict management during disasters; (8) complexities of transdisciplinary knowledge and engagement; (9) demands for training and education; and (10) transformative change to support community resilience. With a focus on transportation planning and community resilience, the lessons from the pandemic need to be shared and customized for different systems, services, modalities, and users. While many of the interventions during the pandemic have been based on public health, the management, response, recovery, adaptation, and transformation of transportation systems resulting from the crisis require multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional communications and coordination, and resource sharing. Further research to support knowledge to action is needed.

This article reviews how veterinarians can assist their apiarist clients in identifying hazards and risks to the apiary. Veterinarians can work with clients to navigate the various phases of disaster planning and response, as well as be a source of information on biosecurity and disease prevention. A summary of insurance programs applicable to apiarists is provided.