No abstract

No abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on global social and economic development, including the transport sector. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, individual states had to take radical measures, including the closure of schools, offices, and businesses. At present, an extraordinary situation persists in the Slovak Republic in connection to the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to influence the behavior and decisions of passengers when using public passenger transport. Anti-pandemic measures in the Slovak Republic were reflected in a decrease in the mobility of the population in public passenger transport; the change in mobility manifested to different extents in individual regions of the Slovak Republic. Our research at the regional level is focused on the Žilina self-governing region. The net impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was clear through a year-on-year decrease in the number of total passenger transport systems for suburban bus transport (SBT) in ŽSK by 40.2% in March, in April by 70.0%, and in May by 60. 2%. There was a more significant decrease in the number of passengers in the first wave of the pandemic in the first half of 2020 than during the second wave of the pandemic in the second half of 2020. The decrease in demand was most pronounced in April 2020 in pupils and students aged 15 years (−89.3%), in children under 6 years (−85.7%), and in seniors over 65 (−80.0%). A time series of past demand for SBT in the Žilina self-governing region, including data from the pandemic period used for forecasts of single-criteria, reduced the reliability of estimated future values of demand. Estimated future demand values are an important part of SBT’s transport service plans for ensuring an adequate supply of transport services in order to maintain demand.

Diesel is the most used fuel for buses and other urban transport vehicles in European countries. This paper deals with impacts on emissions production from the operation of the urban public transport fleet after its renewal. To what extent can the renewal of the urban public transport fleet in the city of Žilina contribute to increasing environmental sustainability in the way of reducing air pollution? The vehicle fleet change has partially consisted of vehicle traction system transition-diesel buses were substituted by hybrid driven (HEV) and electric driven buses (BEV). How can the direct and indirect emissions from the operation of vehicles be calculated? These were the posed research questions. The research aimed to propose a methodology for the calculation of direct and indirect emissions. Indirect emissions values (WtT—Well-to-Tank) for different types of fuels and tractions were obtained based on regression functions. These WtT emission factors together with the existing TtW (Tank-to-Wheels) emission factors (direct emissions) can be used for the assessment of environmental impacts of specific types of vehicles concerning energy source, fuel, or powertrain and type of operation. Direct pollutants such as CO, NOx and PM were calculated with the use of simulation methodology of HBEFA (Handbook of Emission Factors for Road Transport) software. The calculated CO2 savings for the period 2019–2023 about fleet renewal in absolute terms are EUR 1.3 million tons compared to the operation of the original fleet while maintaining the same driving performance. The renewal of the vehicle fleet secured by vehicle traction transition can be a way to reduce the energy intensity and environmental impacts of public transport in Žilina.

This study investigated an alternative home-based cardiac telerehabilitation model in consideration of the recommendations for the COVID-19 quarantine of people diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD). We hypothesized that using a 200 m fast walking test (200 mFWT) and telerehabilitation would create an effective alternative cardiac rehabilitation (CR) intervention that could improve cardiorespiratory fitness. Participants (n = 19, mean age 60.4 ± 9.6) of the 8-week intervention performed regular physical exercise at the target heart rate zone determined by calculations based on the 200 mFWT results. In our study, the participants were supervised using telerehabilitation. A total of 84% of participants completed the 8-week intervention. No adverse events were reported during telerehabilitation. The study participants noted a significant improvement (p < 0.001) in cardiorespiratory fitness expressed by an 8% reduction in the walking test time (Δ 8.8 ± 5.9 s). Home-based telerehabilitation based on 200 mFWT effectively increased the cardiorespiratory fitness in people with CHD with a low to moderate cardiovascular risk. This was a novel approach in CR during the COVID-19 pandemic. As research in this area is justified, this paper may serve as an alternative method of providing healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a basis for further upcoming randomized controlled trials.