Public transport as ‘political infrastructure’: The case of transit disruption in Hong Kong during an urban social movement

Moving beyond a focus on the technical and instrumental role of public transport, this study expands understanding of public transport infrastructure as, what McFarlane and Rutherford term, ‘political infrastructures’ in the context of an urban social movement. With a particular focus on how political attitudes influence perceptions of public transport, this study examines the impact of a social movement (the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement in Hong Kong) on transit services, where radical protest actions disrupted urban services and everyday activity. Bringing in literature from urban studies, social movements, transportation planning and service delivery, we study the interplay between different political stances of Hong Kong residents, attitudes towards radical protest activities, and the perceived impact on public transport disruption and travel satisfaction using a mixed-methods approach, including a questionnaire survey and interviews conducted in 2020. Our results indicate that attitudes towards radical protest affect perceived impacts of transit disruption and travel satisfaction, and such relationships vary by our respondents’ political views and socio-economic status. Our results also suggest that a complex array of interrelated factors likely affects perceptions of protest tactics and their effects.