Transport and mobility after the pandemic
There’s been a lot of talk about what transport and mobility will look like after the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ve all enjoyed the environmental benefits caused by lockdown restrictions, where many of us have been working from home and air travel has been halted. Air quality improvements have been seen across the globe. London’s busiest roads reported nearly a fifty per cent drop in harmful emissions during the peak of the lockdown, and Oxford city centre has seen a historic 59 per cent drop in air pollution.
Now we are seeing restrictions eased, with more people returning to work. But where in the past, public transport and car sharing was encouraged to reduce emissions and congestion, now social distancing measures dictate that, actually, using your car is safer. This could see a surge in car use, with an increase in emissions inevitable. The Mayor of London is attempting to stop this from happening by temporarily increasing the congestion charge, but this of course will not help if walking or cycling to work is not possible.
Many cities, companies and individuals want to use the environmental benefits of lockdown as a springboard for a greener future. And there have been reports that people are taking a fresh view of electric vehicles now they have seen what cleaner air looks and feels like. We asked this question in our Panel of Experts, on page 18, and our panelists raise some interesting points on transport and mobility post-pandemic.
Angela Pisanu, editor
