Pandemic waves and the time after Covid-19 – Consequences for the transport sector

This paper discusses the dual role of the transport sector in the Covid-19 pandemic: spreading the virus around the world and being most negatively impacted by the pandemic. This paper describes and analyzes the following: (a) actions taken by the governments and international community in order to control the spreading and to alleviate negative economic impacts including massive fiscal and monetary stimulus funding; (b) detailed discussions on the impacts of the pandemic on air transport, rail and bus transport, and urban transit, and major countries’ responses to reduce the negative effects; (c) discussions on the positive effects of the pandemic on the environment and climate change by suggesting policy measures in order to make it sustainable over the long term. Finally, the paper addresses social acceptance issue of the behavioral changes necessary in the post-pandemic world, in particular reflecting historical experience of the Spanish flu case. We end the paper with some observations and discussion of the normative issues for a sustainable development of the transport sector.