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Public Transport as Contested Public Space: Fare Policies and Daily Mobilities in Brussels and TallinnThis dissertation explores the social and political dimensions of public transport and examines its implications as a public space in cities such as Brussels and Tallinn. By examining the tensions between planned and lived public spaces through four case studies, this research sheds light on the structuring devices of mobility regimes and their impact on everyday mobilities.Using a variety of qualitative methods, including interviews with different passengers and stakeholders, observational research and travel diaries, this dissertation explores the role of fare policies on mobility behaviour, the transformative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport atmospheres and behaviour, and the establishment of social rules of behaviour and their impact on deviant experiences. Through analyses of fare evasion in the Brussels metro and the effects of the free public transport policy in Tallinn, the author outlines the interplay between policy decisions, infrastructure and social control mechanisms. Incorporating feminist perspectives on the body and embodiment in urban spaces, the dissertation sets out at the micro level to explore users' everyday experiences and practices, to reveal how marginalised mobility needs intersect with societal norms and socio-cultural constructions of space, and to highlight the importance of practical knowledge and 'lived expertise' in understanding the realities of diverse urban citizens. This research contributes to the existing literature on urban theory and public transport by highlighting the political, social and communal functions of public transport. It makes empirical contributions to the literature on fare policy and fare evasion, and to frameworks of mobility justice, by examining urban inequalities manifested in public transport and identifying deviant practices as avenues for wider access and publicness. By illuminating, Le transport public en tant qu'espace public contesté :Politiques tarifaires et mobilités quotidiennes à Bruxelles et à TallinnCette thèse est née dans le but de comprendre ce qui constitue le "public" se trouvant à la fois dans les "transports publics" et dans l'"espace public". Ce n'est que récemment que les transports publics ont été inclus dans la littérature sur l'espace public qui, depuis des décennies, avait déjà discuté de leur rôle dans la vie sociale, culturelle, économique et politique des villes. En outre, la recherche sur les transports, qui s'est généralement concentrée sur une approche fonctionnaliste, ainsi que sur les besoins des navetteurs et les objectifs de planification urbaine axés sur la croissance, a négligé les différents besoins des usagers et la mobilité en tant que phénomène complexe au-delà du mouvement physique. Pour combler ces lacunes, je m'appuie sur la littérature des études sur la mobilité, de l'espace public et des approches féministes de la justice sociale. Ainsi, je souhaite étendre l'approche conventionnelle des transports publics à un éventail plus large d'expériences, en les examinant en tant qu'espace public à travers une étude empirique des expériences et des pratiques quotidiennes de mobilité au niveau individuel. La recherche a été menée à Tallinn (Estonie) et à Bruxelles (Belgique). Ces deux villes sont confrontées à des défis similaires, tels qu'un taux de motorisation élevé et un étalement urbain croissant, la diversité de la population et la ségrégation socio-spatiale. Les principales données pour Bruxelles sont 27 entretiens avec des passagers fraudeurs, des observations ethnographiques dans les stations de métro et sur les médias sociaux, ainsi qu'une enquête en ligne et 33 entretiens semi-structurés avec des passagers pendant la pandémie COVID-19. À Tallinn, 22 personnes ont été interrogées lors de deux entretiens et ont rempli un journal de voyage de sept jours.Les quatre publications présentées dans cette thèse a, Doctorat en Sciences, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic challenged urban public transport systems to maintain accessibility and service for daily users while adapting to local health and safety regulations. Developing sustainable and resilient urban policies under such crisis conditions requires understanding the different feelings, experiences and expectations of passengers and how these relate to socio-economic inequalities. Drawing on a mixed-method study in Berlin (Germany), Brussels (Belgium), Stockholm (Sweden) and Tallinn (Estonia), we show how the pandemic outbreak has changed both who uses public transport and how users experience their journeys. Challenging the narratives that portray public transport as a place of fear, we find that remaining passengers assess the risk of contagion lower than those who avoided it completely. We argue that promoting resilient public transport requires policies that address the needs of passengers relying on public transport services. Therefore, we question the current policies under the sustainable mobility paradigm for not taking sufficient account of the feelings, experiences and emotions and particularly of transport-dependent users., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed crucial tensions related to urban public infrastructure. Among those, questions regarding urban mobility, and public transport (PT) in particular, have received widespread attention in media and political debates. Stigmatisation, ridership slumps, funding problems and system closures have placed public transport systems in the centre of public debate about urban infrastructure. In this paper, we discuss three dimensions in which PT, as a site of urban armature, linking service provisions with individual needs, has been affected by COVID-19. First, we look at the user experience. Considering PT as public space shaped by encounters and emotions, we bring to the fore its contentious and complicated nature, affected by increasing or emerging anxieties and disturbances due to COVID-19. We further underline the inequity of transport provision and access: while some users have easily switched to alternative mobility options, others have remained dependent on PT, and had to navigate new and unevenly distributed challenges. Secondly, we refer to government responses, particularly in terms of funding arrangements, fare systems and controls, and labour organisation. Around the world, PT operators have faced unprecedented financial challenges, pressed to adapt their system to a, "new normality" while observing passenger flows decline drastically. As these problems have been particularly dire in transport networks that depend on a high share of fare-box revenue, a growing number of municipalities is considering a shift to fare-free PT. Thirdly, we discuss possible futures: While some commentators argue that PT faces an imminent decline due to mid-pandemic mobility needs and requirements, we argue that the role of urban public infrastructure is more vital than ever before, especially for underprivileged but recently acknowledged workers in the social and service sector. The paper brings together findings from an online study on mobility behaviour dur