Transport, the economy and environmental sustainability post-Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought previously unimaginable change to the level of mobility in the economy almost overnight. People who have never before worked from home have had to do so almost immediately, and business travel has stopped almost completely in a matter of weeks. At the same time, the uncertainty about how long social distancing restrictions will have to be in place is already focusing attention on how long it will take for demand for public transport to recover. The pandemic has therefore brought into sharp focus questions about the level of mobility the economy actually needs to function, and by extension, whether COVID-19 is an opportunity to radically reformulate our assumptions about how to decarbonise economic activity. The chapter will cover specific issues including: To what extent could virtual economic activity be embedded in place of activities requiring physical mobility, and for what sorts of activities and sectors? What would need to happen to maintain this? • Has the reduction in activity frequency led to new ways of consolidating how things get done? For example, the food retailing sector has reorganised very quickly to accommodate much greater online ordering and home delivery • How will the phased nature of lifting of social distancing restrictions impact on the longer-term attractiveness of public transport, cycling and car use and how varied will this be between places? How will the revenue support for transport services, the economic case for future capital investment in transport infrastructure and the appraisal frameworks required to govern them adapt to the post-COVID19 world.