Influence pandemic COVID-19 on the socio-economic efficiency of urban transport systems

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way people live, think and behave, especially in cities. The pandemic, without exaggeration, has affected all spheres of economic and social life, including affecting the functioning of urban transport systems, which are a multifunctional structure that ensures the mobility of the population. Taking into account the changes that have taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a significant impact on the functioning of urban transport systems, they face new challenges, including in the sphere of ensuring environmental safety and developing new types of mobility. Special attention in this paper is paid to such issues as studying the impact of a new coronavirus infection on the behavior of citizens of world megacities based on the analysis of international experience, determining the impact of a pandemic on the objective indicators of urban transport systems. Taking into account the identified patterns, the main short-term and long-term trends that have developed under the influence of COVID-19 are identified, a comparative description of the measures taken by the city authorities to control the virus is presented, and their possible consequences are analyzed. Examples of successful projects and activities implemented by city administrations in response to the pandemic are given to ensure the long-term sustainability of the development of transport systems.