Research frontier of COVID-19 and passenger transport: A focus on policymaking.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in 400+ million infections and 5.7+ million deaths across the world.1 It has had various impacts on the transport sector, which were due to travel restrictions (e.g., lockdowns and stay-at-home campaigns) and fear of infection risks during travel. Examples of negative impacts include a decline in trip making (e.g., due to cancellation of air and other inter-city transport) and modal shift (e.g., from public transport to cars), a decrease in public transport ridership and the resulting fall in revenues, and the unemployment of transport workers as well as other essential workers. The current pandemic has resulted in a rapid diffusion of various online businesses. This trend is likely to continue, and consequently more online meetings may replace face-to-face communications, and more delivery-based services may replace shopping at stores. Because of lockdowns, restrictions on out-of-home activities, and other physical distancing requirements, many cities in the world have seen air pollution drop, bringing back blue skies and cleaner air, even though this is accompanied by significant economic damage, particularly for socially vulnerable population groups. To address such impacts using scientifically sound evidence, the World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS) established a COVID-19 Task Force in April 2020, when global infections were at 1.0+ million infections and 50+ thousand deaths.2 The Task Force aims to investigate and clarify the impacts of COVID-19, how our society had prepared for such a pandemic, what measures our society has been taking to fight the pandemic, and what the results of these efforts have been. It further aims to figure out what our society should do after the pandemic by learning lessons from the current pandemic and historical pandemics. This special issue is a part of the Task Force's activities. The call for papers was closed at the end of December 2020, after the first international conference on pandemics in the transport field was held (Zhang et al., 2021a,b).3 This special issue was proposed in order to reflect early-stage research efforts. For example, among the most cited/downloaded papers published in Transport Policy in 2020–2021, researchers reported that the pandemic led to an increase in car traffic and active transport and a decline in public transport in Australia in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (Beck and Hensher, 2020a,b), while similar observations were revealed in many other countries, though regional variations were also evident (Zhang et al., 2021c; Das et al., 2021; Rothengatter et al., 2021). On the other hand, it was also found that transport contributed to the spread of COVID-19 (e.g., Nakamura and Managi, 2020; Zhang et al., 2020). Furthermore, in view of the lack of scientifically sound methodologies for designing policies to address the pandemic, a systematic approach called the PASS approach (prepare-protect-provide, avoid-adjust, shift-share, substitute-stop) was proposed, which takes into account the roles of different stakeholders (Zhang, 2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis, and it is therefore important to derive scientifically sound insights for immediate policy measures as soon as possible, especially from a cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary perspective. Even though the aforementioned impacts of COVID-19 on the transport sector and the corresponding policy measures have been investigated by many researchers and organizations, insights for effective policymaking are still very limited. Because similar crises are expected to occur in future, the long-term impacts of the current pandemic should be addressed as a part of long-term transport policy strategies. To prepare for future pandemics, worldwide, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research is urgently required. To address the impacts of COVID-19 and future pandemics, policy measures should be taken from various angles (e.g., laws and regulations, economic measures, technologies, risk communication, behavioral interventions); however, there are still many unknowns about what measures are more effective than others. This special issue focuses on passenger transport: intracity, intercity, and international.

Contents of this special issue

Here, the major contents and findings of each paper in this special issue are summarized. Because it focuses on policymaking issues, the data and method(s) adopted in each paper are not described.

Impacts of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic policy measures have relied heavily on restrictions of various activities, causing various social exclusion issues. [Identifying areas of potential critical healthcare shortages: A case study of spatial accessibility to ICU beds during the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida] revealed spatial and racial segregation of access to healthcare resources in the state of Florida. Lower levels of access were found with respect to people who lived in North Florida and rural areas, as well as areas with more Latino or Hispanic populations. This observation suggests that pandemic policymaking should pay attention to not only the number of infection cases but also the spatial distributions of healthcare resources. The findings from this study re-emphasize the importance of transportation in pandemic policymaking.

As noted above, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a dramatic decline of transit ridership. Focusing on the average weekly number of trips and distance traveled in the United States, [Public transit use in the United States in the era of COVID-19: Transit riders' travel behavior in the COVID-19 impact and recovery period] found more serious disruption to the level of trip making of transit riders compared to non-riders, due to concerns about infection risk in transit. Such disruptions further varied across types of transit riders (e.g., different socio-demographic groups), even though some transit riders increased walking. Their findings also imply that low-income people were more likely to be exposed to the virus because their trip making decreased only slightly. It is suggested that pandemic policy makers should pay more attention to protect those who have to rely on transit in daily life, from the perspective of social justice. Meanwhile, transit operators can better respond to people's concerns about infection risk through effective risk communication and provision of additional levels of service. [Exploring the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on modality profiles for non-mandatory trips in the Greater Toronto Area] provided additional evidence of the decline in transit ridership for non-mandatory trips from the perspective of access to private vehicles in Greater Toronto Area. Loa et al. observed that many transit users owning a private vehicle shifted to car-based trip making; however, those without a private vehicle continued to use transit in order to participate in non-mandatory activities. Additionally, active transport and ride-sourcing were found to replace some transit trips. These findings present useful insights for developing public transport emergency plans for future pandemics, in line with public health guidelines. [COVid-19 influenced Households' Interrupted Travel Schedules (COVHITS) survey: Lessons from the fall 2020 cycle] also targeted the Greater Toronto Area and revealed an increase in car trips and a decline in transit ridership, as well as a decrease in total trips by households. Wang et al. further examine factors affecting the above-observed changes and extensively discuss the policy implications of analysis results, such as (1) working/learning from home should be promoted during the whole course of the pandemic, (2) transit service operation should be improved to avoid crowding inside transit vehicles (e.g., to increase the operation frequency), (3) strict restrictions may be implemented in areas with fewer infection cases to discourage mass gatherings, (4) the increase in active transport observed during the pandemic should be promoted while the increase in car traffic should be reduced, in order to support sustainable urban development.

Effects of immediate measures

Stay-at-home orders are the strictest and most effective measure of pandemic control. [A robust analysis of the impacts of the stay-at-home policy on taxi and Citi Bike usage: A case study of Manhattan] examined the short-term and long-term impacts of the stay-at-home policy on the use of taxis and bike-sharing. As for short-term impacts (at the day level), bike-sharing usage declined much more than taxi usage, while a significant decrease in taxi usage was not found during the off-peak and night periods. Larger reductions in traffic demand were caused by stricter policy enforcement and higher compliance standards. Concerning the long-term impacts (at the month level), the use of the bike-sharing system bounced back from −72% to −28%; however, taxi demand decreased by 94%–96% during the whole course of the stay-at-home period. Considering such large impacts, the authors suggest that policy makers should balance pandemic control through travel restrictions and financial support for the operation of passenger transport services. In this regard, data-driven approaches should be used more effectively to support pandemic policymaking (called “data and model informed policymaking”) by tracking travelers' responses in a timely way and modifying policies accordingly. Regression discontinuity design and propensity score matching methods were used to derive the above policy implications. [Impacts of COVID-19 on urban rail transit ridership using the Synthetic Control Method] showed that the COVID-19 pandemic seriously reduced urban transit ridership in most Chinese cities but led to only a minor decrease in Seoul and Singapore, compared to Europe and the US. Ridership reduction was not related to infection rates; however, it was affected by the severity and duration of lockdowns. Ridership recovery was further confirmed to be delayed by the closure of the full system. Analysis results imply that ridership reduction and health protection should be better balanced when making timely and reasonable pandemic policies.

Targeting China, [Impacts of COVID-19 and anti-pandemic policies on urban transport—an empirical study in China] investigated the impacts of the pandemic on urban transport and reviewed existing policy measures, including the “health code” and nation-wide “green code pass”, promotion of working from home and online meetings, mandatory mask-wearing when using public transport, reducing occupancy rates of public transport, physical protection of drivers and frequent disinfection, travel by reservation, increasing customized bus operations, encouraging travel by private vehicles, guidelines to encourage commuting by shared transport modes during the pandemic, developing non-motorized traffic systems, and supporting the decreased travel demand by improved intelligent logistics systems. As evidenced by various infection indicators, the strict measures taken in China, especially based on lessons learned from SARS epidemic, proved to be effective in controlling the pandemic, even though their social and economic impacts are unknown. Zhou et al. further confirmed the effects of strict measures on traffic in the COVID-19 resurgence in Beijing. Lastly, Zhou et al. summarized lessons learned from the policy measures and experiences in China, which have global implications.

Looking at pandemic policymaking practices all over the world, the comprehensiveness and ‘seamlessness’ of policies have seldom been considered, even though the virus is invisible and can consequently infect anybody, at any place, and at any time. To overcome the shortcomings of existing pandemic policies, the PASS approach (P: prepare-protect-provide; A: avoid-adjust; S: shift-share; S: substitute-stop) (Zhang, 2020) was proposed as a comprehensive and seamless pandemic policymaking methodology. In line with the PASS approach, two empirical studies were conducted. The first one is a cross-country comparison, by [Effects of transport-related COVID-19 policy measures: A case study of six developed countries], and the second one was conducted at the individual level by [Dynamic associations between temporal behavior changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subjective assessments of policymaking: A case study in Japan]. compared 418 policies (of which more than 50% were transport policies) in six developed countries, where policy effectiveness was measured in a before-after manner with respect to three periods. It was found that none of the extracted policies were associated with cumulative infection cases and deaths, and only about 40% of the policies were judged to be effective in terms of daily infection cases. With one exception, the infection situation before policymaking did not affect decisions on any P-A-S-S policy measure. Fortunately, after implementing P-A-S-S policy measures, expected changes in mobility indicators were confirmed. Unfortunately, expected changes in mobility indicators were not necessarily associated with an expected reduction in infection indicators. The above observations suggest that existing pandemic policies should be carefully re-designed in a timely manner, based on the ever-increasing scientific evidence and by making smart use of advanced technologies. As an individual-level analysis, Ding and Zhang implemented a panel data analysis in Japan and found that people had tried to perform more avoidance behaviors during the pandemic in line with their perceptions of risk during the use of public transport. State dependence was revealed to most influential to the recent behavior changes. People further perceived that not only P-A-S-S policies but also lifestyle modification policies affect behavior changes. Policymaking capacity building was estimated to be more influential than people's willingness to follow policy measures. The findings by Ding and Zhang further suggest that effective risk communication by governments is crucial to control the pandemic through changes in people's daily behaviors. To enhance policy effectiveness and efficiency, pandemic policymaking should also be sufficiently sensitive to people's time-varying behaviors and attitudes.

Long-term issues and policy strategies

Traffic demand reductions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have huge economic impacts. [The economic impacts of traffic consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: A CGE analysis] found that traffic demand reductions led to a maximum 0.49% reduction of GDP in China when the pandemic was most severe. Serious reductions in the outputs of all industries caused by traffic demand reductions were further observed: road transport led to a 10.17% reduction of the outputs of all industries, followed by railways (1.76%) and airlines (1.53%), where the service industry was mostly affected. To effectively promote economic recovery and create more jobs, railway investments are estimated to be more effective than investments in road and air transport. It is proposed that from a short-term perspective, the road transport sector should be better supported to respond to evolving situations at different stages of the pandemic, while from a long-term perspective, railway development should be further promoted, rather than road and air transport development.

There are various long-term issues that should be addressed for future public health threats. In this regard, [Long-term pathways to deep decarbonization of the transport sector in the post-COVID world] explored long-term pathways toward a deep decarbonization of the post-pandemic transport sector by reflecting on potential ‘new normal’ scenarios after experiencing the current pandemic. Focusing on a city in China, scenario analyses showed that energy consumption and the resulting CO2 emissions can be reduced by a maximum of 44% by promoting the new-normal lifestyles of working from home, online shopping and active transport; however, the car dependence strengthened by the pandemic is simulated to worsen CO2 emissions. Thus, promoting green and digital lifestyles and encouraging the use of safe public transport and convenient carpooling services are crucial to strongly reduce CO2 emissions from the transport sector. It is suggested that more advanced transport and energy technologies be deployed to realize a carbon-neutral energy future and a sustainable society. Furthermore, it is argued that urban planning and land use regulations are important for promoting environmentally resilient, economically prosperous and sustainable urban development.

Governance of pandemic policymaking

[Mega-disruptions and policy change: Lessons from the mobility sector in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK] revealed that in the UK, transport during the crisis affected all parts of government, reaffirming the key role of transport in economic and social development. The current pandemic accelerated existing planned policies, but radical policy adaptations were not identified. The pandemic reinforced the role of central government in intervening in city-region level transport policymaking. After experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, surprisingly, it seems that transport policy makers are not ready to decide what should be done for post-pandemic transportation development, even though the current pandemic was recognized as a potential game changer for business practices, industry structures, ways of working and public finances. For example, even though the importance of active transport has been widely recognized, the level of investments in active transport infrastructure is still far below expectations. The authors conclude that “it is difficult to see change as anything other than incremental” and “the unfolding impacts of Coronavirus on our ways of living and our transport systems will take much longer to play out” after lifting physical distancing restrictions.

[A multi-level governance response to the Covid-19 crisis in public transport] examined how Dutch policy makers reacted to the financial crisis in public transport caused by COVID-19. It is found that immediate short-term responses to urgent events were based on existing practices. Policy makers’ responses to the crisis were mainly driven by informal practices of consultation and concertation. The current pandemic has not led to a transformation of customary governance and policy-making practices, in the sense that path-dependent policymaking was still dominating in practice and the network of actors was unchanged. Resistance to a true transformation of policymaking comes from endogenous forces. Nevertheless, maintaining informal governance is revealed to be crucial to reach policymaking consensus in crises, even though radical policy changes are not be expected if a multi-level governance consisting of supranational, international, national, regional and local stakeholders is not established.

Existing research efforts

From the Web of Science (as of February 12, 2022), 620 papers were found (including some papers included in this special issue) with respect to research on COVID-19 in the context of transport (including tourism), by searching keywords of COVID-19 (or pandemic, corona) and transport (or traffic, transportation, accident, travel” from paper titles, after manually removing irrelevant papers. Among these papers, 76% were published in 2021 and 18% in 2020. Among the journals which featured these 620 papers, popular transportation journals only account for about 20%, suggesting that transport-related COVID-19 research has attracted attention from more and more non-transport researchers. Within transport-related journals, Transport Policy published the largest number of COVID-19 papers, i.e., 42 papers, followed by Transportation Research Record (13) and Journal of Air Transport Management (11). Looking at the 50 highly cited papers and hot papers (Table 1 ) identified by Web of Science, Transport Policy published the largest number of COVID-19 papers (12), followed by Journal of Air Transport Management (3). This suggests that Transport Policy has led transport-related COVID-19 research, internationally.

Table 1

A list of Highly-Cited-Papers and Hot-Papers related to transport research from Web of Science (ranked by citations).

Authors	Year	Paper titles	Journals
Chinazzi, M; Davis, JT; Ajelli, M; et al.	2020	The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak	Science
Bohmer, MM; Buchholz, U; Corman, VM; et al.	2020	Investigation of a COVID-19 outbreak in Germany resulting from a single travel-associated primary case: a case series	Lancet Infectious Diseases
Wen, J; Kozak, M; Yang, SH; Liu, F	2021	COVID-19: potential effects on Chinese citizens' lifestyle and travel	Tourism Review
Kerimray, A; Baimatova, N; Ibragimova, OP; et al.	2020	Assessing air quality changes in large cities during COVID-19 lockdowns: The impacts of traffic-free urban conditions in Almaty, Kazakhstan	Science Of The Total Environment
Tirachini, A; Cats, O	2020	COVID-19 and public transportation: Current assessment, prospects, and research needs	Journal Of Public Transportation
Linka, K; Peirlinck, M; Costabal, FS; Kuhl, E	2020	Outbreak dynamics of COVID-19 in Europe and the effect of travel restrictions	Computer Methods In Biomechanics And Biomedical Engineering
Jain, S; Sharma, T	2020	Social and travel lockdown impact considering coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on air quality in megacities of India: Present benefits, future challenges and way forward	Aerosol And Air Quality Research
Neuburger, L; Egger, R	2021	Travel risk perception and travel behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020: a case study of the DACH region	Current Issues In Tourism
Beck, MJ; Hensher, DA	2020	Insights into the impact of COVID-19 on household travel and activities in Australia - The early days under restrictions	Transport Policy
Anzai, A; Kobayashi, T; Linton, NM; et al.	2020	Assessing the Impact of Reduced Travel on Exportation Dynamics of Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19)	Journal Of Clinical Medicine
Skare, M; Soriano, DR; Porada-Rochon, M	2021	Impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry	Technological Forecasting And Social Change
Zheng, DN; Luo, QJ; Ritchie, BW	2021	Afraid to travel after COVID-19? Self-protection, coping and resilience against pandemic ‘travel fear '	Tourism Management
Iacus, SM; Natale, F; Santamaria, C; et al.	2020	Estimating and projecting air passenger traffic during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and its socio-economic impact	Safety Science
Narayan, PK; Phan, DHB; Liu, GQ	2021	COVID-19 lockdowns, stimulus packages, travel bans, and stock returns	Finance Research Letters
Lew, AA; Cheer, JM; Haywood, M; Brouder, P; Salazar, NB	2020	Visions of travel and tourism after the global COVID-19 transformation of 2020	Tourism Geographies
Gao, S; Rao, JM; Kang, YH; et al.	2020	Association of mobile phone location data indications of travel and stay-at-home mandates With COVID-19 infection rates in the US	Jama Network Open
Beck, MJ; Hensher, DA	2020	Insights into the impact of COVID-19 on household travel and activities in Australia - The early days of easing restrictions	Transport Policy
Galvani, A; Lew, AA; Perez, MS	2020	COVID-19 is expanding global consciousness and the sustainability of travel and tourism	Tourism Geographies
Nizetic, S	2020	Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on air transport mobility, energy, and environment: A case study	International Journal Of Energy Research
Beck, MJ; Hensher, DA; Wei, E	2020	Slowly coming out of COVID-19 restrictions in Australia: Implications for working from home and commuting trips by car and public transport	Journal Of Transport Geography
Sun, XQ; Wandelt, S; Zhang, AM	2020	How did COVID-19 impact air transportation? A first peek through the lens of complex networks	Journal Of Air Transport Management
Abu-Rayash, A; Dincer, I	2020	Analysis of mobility trends during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic: Exploring the impacts on global aviation and travel in selected cities	Energy Research & Social Science
Shakibaei, S; de Jong, GC; Alpkokin, P; Rashidi, TH	2021	Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel behavior in Istanbul: A panel data analysis	Sustainable Cities And Society
Gkiotsalitis, K; Cats, O	2021	Public transport planning adaption under the COVID-19 pandemic crisis: literature review of research needs and directions	Transport Reviews
Zhang, JY; Hayashi, Y; Frank, LD	2021	COVID-19 and transport: Findings from a world-wide expert survey	Transport Policy
Chen, ZF; Hao, XY; Zhang, XY; Chen, FL	2021	Have traffic restrictions improved air quality? A shock from COVID-19	Journal Of Cleaner Production
Zhang, JY	2020	Transport policymaking that accounts for COVID-19 and future public health threats: A PASS approach	Transport Policy
Oum, TH; Wang, K	2020	Socially optimal lockdown and travel restrictions for fighting communicable virus including COVID-19	Transport Policy
Przybylowski, A; Stelmak, S; Suchanek, M	2021	Mobility behaviour in view of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-public transport users in Gdansk case study	Sustainability
Bielecki, M; Patel, D; Hinkelbein, J; et al.	2021	Air travel and COVID-19 prevention in the pandemic and peri-pandemic period: A narrative review	Travel Medicine And Infectious Disease
Carteni, A; Di Francesco, L; Martino, M	2021	The role of transport accessibility within the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in Italy	Safety Science
Molloy, J; Schatzmann, T; Schoeman, B; Tchervenkov, C; Hintermann, B; Axhausen, KW	2021	Observed impacts of the Covid-19 first wave on travel behaviour in Switzerland based on a large GPS panel	Transport Policy
Vickerman, R	2021	Will Covid-19 put the public back in public transport? A UK perspective	Transport Policy
Sun, XQ; Wandelt, S; Zheng, CH; Zhang, AM	2021	COVID-19 pandemic and air transportation: Successfully navigating the paper hurricane	Journal Of Air Transport Management
Tian, XL; An, CJ; Chen, ZK; Tian, ZQ	2021	Assessing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on urban transportation and air quality in Canada	Science Of The Total Environment
Cui, Q; He, L; Liu, Y; Zheng, YT; Wei, W; Yang, B; Zhou, MF	2021	The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on China ? s transport sectors based on the CGE model coupled with a decomposition analysis approach	Transport Policy
Hensher, DA; Wei, E; Beck, MJ; Balbontin, C	2021	The impact of COVID-19 on cost outlays for car and public transport commuting-The case of the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area after three months of restrictions	Transport Policy
Gudmundsson, SV; Cattaneo, M; Redondi, R	2021	Forecasting temporal world recovery in air transport markets in the presence of large economic shocks: The case of COVID-19	Journal Of Air Transport Management
Pan, TY; Shu, F; Kitterlin-Lynch, M; Beckman, E	2021	Perceptions of cruise travel during the COVID-19 pandemic: Market recovery strategies for cruise businesses in North America	Tourism Management
Eisenmann, C; Nobis, C; Kolarova, V; Lenz, B; Winkler, C	2021	Transport mode use during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Germany: The car became more important, public transport lost ground	Transport Policy
Gaskin, DJ; Zare, H; Delarmente, BA	2021	Geographic disparities in COVID-19 infections and deaths: The role of transportation	Transport Policy
Barbieri, DM; Lou, BW; Passavanti, M; et al.	2021	Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mobility in ten countries and associated perceived risk for all transport modes	PLOS One
Dong, HM; Ma, SF; Jia, N; Tian, JF	2021	Understanding public transport satisfaction in post COVID-19 pandemic	Transport Policy
Kutela, B; Novat, N; Langa, N	2021	Exploring geographical distribution of transportation research themes related to COVID-19 using text network approach	Sustainable Cities And Society
Awad-Nunez, S; Julio, R; Gomez, J; Moya-Gomez, B; Gonzalez, JS	2021	Post-COVID-19 travel behaviour patterns: impact on the willingness to pay of users of public transport and shared mobility services in Spain	European Transport Research Review
Doucette, ML; Tucker, A; Auguste, ME; et al.	2021	Initial impact of COVID-19's stay-at-home order on motor vehicle traffic and crash patterns in Connecticut: an interrupted time series analysis	Injury Prevention
Inada, H; Ashraf, L; Campbell, S	2021	COVID-19 lockdown and fatal motor vehicle collisions due to speed-related traffic violations in Japan: a time-series study	Injury Prevention
Munawar, HS; Khan, SI; Qadir, Z; Kouzani, AZ; Mahmud, MAP	2021	Insight into the impact of COVID-19 on Australian transportation sector: An economic and community-based perspective	Sustainability
Marinello, S; Lolli, F; Gamberini, R	2021	The impact of the COVID-19 emergency on local vehicular traffic and its consequences for the environment: The case of the City of Reggio Emilia (Italy)	Sustainability
Bian, ZL; Zuo, F; Gao, JQ; Chen, YY; Venkata, SSCP; Bernardes, SD; Ozbay, K; Ban, XG; Wang, JX	2021	Time lag effects of COVID-19 policies on transportation systems: A comparative study of New York City and Seattle	Transportation Research Part A-Policy And Practice

Note: The journal Transport Policy is shown in italic style.

Table 2 shows special issues that have already been released by key transport research journals. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives published 82 papers related to COVID-19 in its two special collections (the first collection included 48 papers published in May 2020–June 2021 and the second included 34 papers published in March 2021–March 2022). Transport Policy has released the second largest number of COVID-19 related papers in its two special issues (46 papers were published in its first special issue “Post COVID 19 World” and the preparation of one more special issue is ongoing, with 5 papers were already online as of February 2022). The third largest number of COVID-19 papers can be found in Journal of Air Transport Management, which released two special issues (the first special issue “Air Transport COVID-19” published 29 papers between August 2020 and July 2021, and the second special issue “COVID19: Long-term impact” included 15 papers that were published between June 2021 and January 2022). Transportation Letters also actively accepted papers about COVID-19, including 16 papers in its first special issue on COVID-19 “Understanding the relationships between COVID-19 and transportation”. Transportation Research Part A's special issue on COVID19 accepted 11 papers and European Transport Research Review collected 12 papers in the special issue “Transport in the COVID-19 Virus Era”. Again, within the transport journals included in the Web of Science, Transport Policy has been most active in publishing COVID-19 research.

Table 2

Special issues on COVID-19 in key transport journals.

Transport Policy: Post COVID 19 World

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/transport-policy/special-issue/104FXCVKKMJ

Edited by Ashish Verma; Paper published in March 2021–February 2022 [Last update 29 July 2021]

1. Will Covid-19 put the public back in public transport? A UK perspective

2. Sustainable mobility in auto-dominated Metro Boston: Challenges and opportunities post-COVID-19

3. Improving the subway attraction for the post-COVID-19 era: The role of fare-free public transport policy

4. Dynamic governance decisions on multi-modal inter-city travel during a large-scale epidemic spreading

5. Observed impacts of the Covid-19 first wave on travel behaviour in Switzerland based on a large GPS panel

6. Urban transport policies in the time of pandemic, and after: An ARDUOUS research agenda

7. COVID-19 and transport: Findings from a world-wide expert survey

8. Transport mode use during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Germany: The car became more important, public transport lost ground

9. Quantifying the impact of COVID-19 on non-motorized transportation: A Bayesian structural time series model

10. Can street-focused emergency response measures trigger a transition to new transport systems? Exploring evidence and lessons from 55 US cities

11. An explanatory approach to assess resilience: An evaluation of competitive priorities for logistics organizations

12. The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on China's transport sectors based on the CGE model coupled with a decomposition analysis approach

13. Quantifying the impact of COVID–19 preventive measures on traffic in the State of Qatar

14. Recovery preparedness of global air transport influenced by COVID-19 pandemic: Policy intervention analysis

15. A study of changes in everyday mobility during the Covid-19 pandemic: As perceived by people living in Malmö, Sweden

16. Slowing the spread of COVID-19: Review of “Social distancing” interventions deployed by public transit in the United States and Canada

17. Containing the COVID-19 pandemic with drones - Feasibility of a drone enabled back-up transport system

18. The impact of labour market disruptions and transport choice on the environment during COVID-19

19. Assessing regional risk of COVID-19 infection from Wuhan via high-speed rail

20. Acceptability of sustainable mobility policies under a post-COVID-19 scenario. Evidence from Spain

21. Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on individual's travel mode choice in China

22. Measuring changes in travel behavior pattern due to COVID-19 in a developing country: A case study of Pakistan

23. Analyzing the service quality priorities in cargo transportation before and during the Covid-19 outbreak

24. Psychological impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the mode choice behaviour: A hybrid choice modelling approach

25. Modeling indoor-level non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A pedestrian dynamics-based microscopic simulation approach

26. Impact of COVID-19: A radical modal shift from public to private transport mode

27. Housing and accessibility after the COVID-19 pandemic: Rebuilding for resilience, equity and sustainable mobility

28. Assessing the inequalities in access to online delivery services and the way COVID-19 pandemic affects marginalization

29. Impact of COVID-19 on the Indian seaport transportation and maritime supply chain

30. Access to urban activities during the Covid-19 pandemic and impacts on urban mobility: The Brazilian context

31. Women's mobility and transport in the peripheries of three African cities: Reflecting on early impacts of COVID-19

32. COVID-19, public agglomerations and economic effects: Assessing the recovery time of passenger transport services in Brazil

33. Physical mobility and virtual communication in Italy: Trends, analytical relationships and policies for the post COVID-19

34. COVID-19 impacts on general aviation – Comparative experiences, governmental responses and policy imperatives

35. A paradigm shift in urban mobility: Policy insights from travel before and after COVID-19 to seize the opportunity

36. Mobility change in Delhi due to COVID and its' immediate and long term impact on demand with intervened non motorized transport friendly infrastructural policies

37. Application of mobility related data during pandemic: opportunities, issues and challenges in India

38. Potential of telecommuting for different employees in the Indian context beyond COVID-19 lockdown

39. Behavioural changes in transport and future repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain

40. Dynamic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the regional express logistics: Evidence from China

41. Will modal shift occur from subway to other modes of transportation in the post-corona world in developing countries?

42. Exploring essential travel during COVID-19 quarantine: Evidence from China

43. Analysis and monitoring of post-COVID mobility demand in Rome resulting from the adoption of sustainable mobility measures

44. Dealing with impact of COVID-19 on transportation in a developing country: Insights and policy recommendations

45. Public transport strategy and epidemic prevention framework in the Context of Covid-19

46. Japanese aviation market performance during the COVID-19 pandemic - Analyzing airline yield and competition in the domestic market

Transport Policy: Air Policy beyond Covid-19 (ongoing, as of February 14, 2022)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/transport-policy/special-issue/10ZTH3XDD81

Edited by Yahua Zhang, Lei Zheng and Paul Bates; Papers published in December 2021–March 2022 [Last update 17 November 2021]

1. Technological and educational challenges towards pandemic-resilient aviation

2. The effect of a safety crisis on safety culture and safety climate: The resilience of a flight training organization during COVID-19

3. Factors influencing low female representation in pilot training recruitment

4. Measuring Beijing's international air connectivity and suggestions for improvement post COVID-19

5. Pandemics as ‘windows of opportunity’: Transitioning towards more sustainable and resilient transport systems

Transportation Research Part A: COVID19

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/transportation-research-part-a-policy-and-practice/special-issue/10QNX03P8QR

Edited by Hani S Mahmassani, Patricia Mokhtarian; Papers published in November 2021–February 2022 [Last update 16 November 2021]

1. Transport disrupted – Substituting public transport by bike or car under Covid 19

2. Mobility in post-pandemic economic reopening under social distancing guidelines: Congestion, emissions, and contact exposure in public transit

3. Evidence of a post-COVID change in travel behaviour – Self-reported expectations of commuting in Melbourne

4. The impact of COVID-19 on the ride-sharing industry and its recovery: Causal evidence from China

5. Adoption of delivery services in light of the COVID pandemic: Who and how long?

6. The impact of working from home on modal commuting choice response during COVID-19: Implications for two metropolitan areas in Australia

7. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the use of ride-sourcing services? An empirical evidence-based investigation for the Greater Toronto Area

8. For whom did telework not work during the Pandemic? understanding the factors impacting telework satisfaction in the US using a multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) model

9. COVID and working from home: Long-term impacts and psycho-social determinants

10. A double jeopardy: COVID-19 impacts on the travel behavior and community living of people with disabilities

11. Working from home during the corona-crisis is associated with higher subjective well-being for women with long (pre-corona) commutes

European Transport Research Review: Transport in the COVID-19 Virus Era

https://www.springeropen.com/collections/etrrcovid19

Edited by Karst Geurs; Papers published in December 2020–September 2021

1. Six lessons from first year COVID-19 restrictions: what can we do better in the future?

2. Who continued traveling by public transport during COVID-19? Socioeconomic factors explaining travel behaviour in Stockholm 2020 based on smart card data

3. Analysing the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on everyday travel behaviour in Germany and potential implications for future travel patterns

4. Explaining demand patterns during COVID-19 using opportunistic data: a case study of the city of Munich

5. Mapping travel behavior changes during the COVID-19 lock-down: a socioeconomic analysis in Greece

6. Post-COVID-19 travel behaviour patterns: impact on the willingness to pay of users of public transport and shared mobility services in Spain

7. When the impossible becomes possible: COVID-19's impact on work and travel patterns in Swedish public agencies

8. A mixed-methods analysis of mobility behavior changes in the COVID-19 era in a rural case study

9. The trade-off behaviours between virtual and physical activities during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic period

10. Impacts of interpersonal distancing on-board trains during the COVID-19 emergency

11. Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the mobility behaviour in Germany

12. Port state control at European Union under pandemic outbreak

Transportation Letters: Understanding the relationships between COVID-19 and transportation

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19427867.2021.1913875

Edited by Konstadinos G. Goulias; Papers published in March 2021–April 2021

1. Exploring the factors affecting travel behaviors during the second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

2. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact traveler behavior toward public transport? The case of Athens, Greece

3. Assessing the impacts of COVID-19 on urban passenger travel demand in the greater Toronto area: description of a multi-pronged and multi-staged study with initial results

4. Exploring the Behaviour Change of Crowding Impedance on Public Transit due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Before and After Comparison

5. Impact of COVID-19 on educational trips – an Indian case study

6. A user opinion survey on the probable impact of COVID-19 on long-distance travel in India

7. A comprehensive analysis of the trip frequency behavior in COVID scenario

8. How have ride-sourcing users adapted to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic? evidence from a survey-based study of the Greater Toronto Area

9. Does undirected travel compensate for reduced directed travel during lockdown?

10. The tale of two countries: modeling the effects of COVID-19 on shopping behavior in Bangladesh and India

11. The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Mobility Patterns: The First Wave's Results

12. Impact of lockdown and change in mobility patterns on road fatalities during COVID-19 pandemic

13. Measuring travel behavior in Houston, Texas with mobility data during the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak

14. Analysis of road traffic pattern changes due to activity restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic in Chennai

15. Transporting COVID-19 testing specimens by routing unmanned aerial vehicles with range and payload constraints: the case of Istanbul

16. Evolution of the Chinese spring festival travel network during the COVID-19 early outbreak

Journal of Air Transport Management: Air Transport COVID-19

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-air-transport-management/special-issue/10N4F7PLQHT

Edited by Sveinn Gudmundsson, Rico Merkert; Papers published in August 2020–July 2021 [Last update 22 May 2021]

1. Impact of COVID-19 on air transport passenger markets: Examining evidence from the Chinese market

2. Forecasting temporal world recovery in air transport markets in the presence of large economic shocks: The case of COVID-19

3. Efficiency evaluation of Brazilian airlines operations considering the Covid-19 outbreak

4. Post pandemic aviation market recovery: Experience and lessons from China

5. Focusing on the big picture while observing the concerns of both managers and passengers in the post-covid era

6. Pandemics and environmental shocks: What aviation managers should learn from COVID-19 for long-term planning

7. An airport operations proposal for a pandemic-free air travel

8. Aeropolitics in a post-COVID-19 world

9. European airlines′ strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (January–May 2020)

10. Attitudes of ageing passengers to air travel since the coronavirus pandemic

11. To bargain or not to bargain: Airlines, legitimacy and nonmarket strategy in a COVID-19 world

12. Simulation model of security control lane operation in the state of the COVID-19 epidemic

13. A SWOT analysis of China's air cargo sector in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

14. Future aircraft turnaround operations considering post-pandemic requirements

15. Modeling Airline Crisis Management Capability: Brand attitude, brand credibility and intention

16. Air carrier's liability for the safety of passengers during COVID-19 pandemic

17. Factors that predict passengers willingness to fly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

18. Exogenous shocks and managerial preparedness: A study of U.S. airlines' environmental scanning before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

19. The future of airports post COVID-19

20. Ultra Long-Haul: An emerging business model accelerated by COVID-19

21. Social distancing in airplane seat assignments

22. What can we learn from the JATM literature for the future of aviation post Covid-19? - A bibliometric and visualization analysis

23. Measuring imported case risk of COVID-19 from inbound international flights --- A case study on China

24. Airport user experience unpacked: Conceptualizing its potential in the face of COVID-19

25. Grounded aircraft: An airfield operations perspective of the challenges of resuming flights post COVID

26. How did COVID-19 impact air transportation? A first peek through the lens of complex networks

27. Government support to airlines in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

28. Covid −19, the collapse in passenger demand and airport charges

29. Risks, resilience, and pathways to sustainable aviation: A COVID-19 perspective

Journal of Air Transport Management: COVID19: Long-term impact

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-air-transport-management/special-issue/10J74LBCQP2

Edited by Anming Zhang, Hangjun Yang, Kun Wang; Papers published in June 2021–January 2022 [Last update 18 September 2021]

1. Hub airport slot Re-allocation and subsidy policy to speed up air traffic recovery amid COVID-19 pandemic --- case on the Chinese airline market

2. COVID-19 pandemic and air transportation: Successfully navigating the paper hurricane

3. Changes in airport operating procedures and implications for airport strategies post-COVID-19

4. Diffusion of the Airport Health Accreditation Program in the COVID-19 period: An Assessment with Institutional Logic And Legitimacy Approach

5. A qualitative analysis of social and emotional perspectives of airline passengers during the COVID-19 pandemic

6. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on current tertiary aviation education and future careers: Students' perspective

7. Testing the differentiated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air travel demand considering social inclusion

8. The impact of COVID-19 on airline passenger travel behavior: An exploratory analysis on the Chinese aviation market

9. Strategic responses by European airlines to the Covid-19 pandemic: A soft landing or a turbulent ride?

10. Impacts of COVID-19 on aircraft usage and fuel consumption: A case study on four Chinese international airports

11. Estimating the impact of COVID-19 on air travel in the medium and long term using neural network and Monte Carlo simulation

12. Investigating air travellers' travel motivation during a pandemic crisis

13. The effect of aviation responses to the control of imported COVID-19 cases

14. Quantifying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on US airline stock prices

15. Passenger, airline, and policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis: The case of South Korea

Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives: COVID-19

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/transportation-research-interdisciplinary-perspectives/special-issue/10QQ201V2HM

Edited by Karl Kim; Papers published in May 2020–June 2021 [Last update 15 April 2021]

1. Appraising the impact of air transport on the environment: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

2. Dueling emergencies: Flood evacuation ridesharing during the COVID-19 pandemic

3. Bike share responses to COVID-19

4. The relationship between mobility and COVID-19 pandemic: Daily evidence from an emerging country by causality analysis

5. COVID-19 – A window of opportunity for the transition toward sustainable mobility?

6. Impacts of COVID-19 on transportation: Summary and synthesis of interdisciplinary research

7. Considerations for the transportation of school aged children amid the Coronavirus pandemic

8. COVID-19: Are you satisfied with traveling during the pandemic?

9. Shifting streets COVID-19 mobility data: Findings from a global dataset and a research agenda for transport planning and policy

10. Perceived risk of infection while traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from Columbus, OH

11. Flight safety during Covid-19: A study of Charles de Gaulle airport atypical energy approaches

12. Cruising through a pandemic: The impact of COVID-19 on intentions to cruise

13. Exploring the travel behavior changes caused by the COVID-19 crisis: A case study for a developing country

14. A model for modifying the public transport service patterns to account for the imposed COVID-19 capacity

15. Moving towards “mobile warehouse”: Last-mile logistics during COVID-19 and beyond

16. Relationship between Internet use and out-of-home activities during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan

17. COVID-19 lockdown measures and travel behavior: The case of Thessaloniki, Greece

18. Modelling the effects of COVID-19 on travel mode choice behaviour in India

19. The impact of COVID-19 on domestic U.S. air travel operations and commercial airport service

20. COVID-19 effects on shared-biking in New York, Boston, and Chicago

21. Projecting daily travel behavior by distance during the pandemic and the spread of COVID-19 infections – Are we in a closed loop scenario?

22. COVID-19 spread and inter-county travel: Daily evidence from the U.S.

23. Exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on travel behavior and mode preferences

24. Impacts of COVID-19 on access to transportation for people with disabilities

25. Exploring the intention of out-of-home activities participation during new normal conditions in Indonesian cities

26. Impacts of COVID-19 on public transport ridership in Sweden: Analysis of ticket validations, sales and passenger counts

27. Testing on the move: South Korea's rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic

28. The effect of COVID-19 and subsequent social distancing on travel behavior

29. COVID-19 and airline employment: Insights from historical uncertainty shocks to the industry

30. The cruise industry and the COVID-19 outbreak

31. How COVID-19 and the Dutch ‘intelligent lockdown’ change activities, work and travel behaviour: Evidence from longitudinal data in the Netherlands

32. Responsible Transport: A post-COVID agenda for transport policy and practice

33. Impact of COVID-19 on transportation in Lagos, Nigeria

34. The impact of COVID-19 on transport volume and freight capacity dynamics: An empirical analysis in German food retail logistics

35. The link between bike sharing and subway use during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case-study of New York's Citi Bike

36. The impact of government measures and human mobility trend on COVID-19 related deaths in the UK

37. Compensation effect between deaths from Covid-19 and crashes: The Italian case

38. Impact of Covid-19 on passengers and airlines from passenger measurements: Managing customer satisfaction while putting the US Air Transportation System to sleep

39. Travel behavior changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: Analyzing the effects of risk perception and social influence on going-out self-restriction

40. COVID-19 indoor exposure levels: An analysis of foot traffic scenarios within an academic building

41. A descriptive analysis of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on driving behavior and road safety

42. Implication of repatriating migrant workers on COVID-19 spread and transportation requirements

43. Adherence to social distancing and wearing of masks within public transportation during the COVID 19 pandemic

44. Impact of physical distancing due to novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on daily travel for work during transition to lockdown

45. Changes in urban mobility in Sapporo city, Japan due to the Covid-19 emergency declarations

46. How is COVID-19 reshaping activity-travel behavior? Evidence from a comprehensive survey in Chicago

47. Estimating the impacts of lockdown on Covid-19 cases in Nigeria

48. COVID-19 lockdown and reduction of traffic accidents in Tarragona province, Spain

Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives: COVID-19 Part II

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/transportation-research-interdisciplinary-perspectives/special-issue/102WVCGMXM3

Edited by Kim Karl; Papers published in March 2021–March 2022 [Last update 17 September 2021]

1. Who took gig jobs during the COVID-19 recession? Evidence from Uber Eats in Japan

2. Impact of Covid-19 on willingness to share trips

3. Construct validation of the COVID-19 Cavalier Scale: Analysis of indirect effects with optimism on likelihood to travel

4. Transport impacts in Germany and State of Qatar: An assessment during the first wave of COVID-19

5. Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting

6. Accessing hemodialysis clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic

7. Pedestrian movement simulation for an airport considering social distancing strategy

8. Public health framing in local media coverage of crashes involving pedestrians or bicyclists in

9. Integrating COVID-19 health risks into crowding costs for transit schedule planning

10. COVID-19 and suburban public transport in the conditions of the Czech Republic

11. Impact of COVID-19 restrictions on mode use and mode captivity the city of Santo Domingo in Latin America

12. Customer perceptions of COVID-19 countermeasures on passenger ships during the pandemic

13. Half-hearted policies on mobility restrictions during COVID-19 in Indonesia: A portrait of large informal economy country

14. Will we travel less after the pandemic?

15. A comparative analysis of service quality among ECOWAS seaports

16. Shifting streets COVID-19 mobility data: Findings from a global dataset and a research agenda for transport planning and policy

17. Perceived risk of infection while traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from Columbus, OH

18. Flight safety during Covid-19: A study of Charles de Gaulle airport atypical energy approaches

19. Cruising through a pandemic: The impact of COVID-19 on intentions to cruise

20. Exploring the travel behavior changes caused by the COVID-19 crisis: A case study for a developing country

21. A model for modifying the public transport service patterns to account for the imposed COVID-19 capacity

22. Moving towards “mobile warehouse”: Last-mile logistics during COVID-19 and beyond

23. Social media response and crisis communications in active shootings during COVID-19 pandemic

24. Commuting before and after COVID-19

25. Airport pandemic response: An assessment of impacts and strategies after one year with COVID-19

26. Exploring the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in travel behaviour: A qualitative study

27. A simulation-based analysis for effective distribution of COVID-19 vaccines: A case study in Norway

28. Exploring the changes in travel behavior in a developing country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from Metro Cebu, Philippines

29. Canadian transit agencies response to COVID-19: Understanding strategies, information accessibility and the use of social media

30. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on transportation employment: A comparative analysis

31. Structural equation modeling of public transport use with COVID-19 precautions: An extension of the norm activation model

32. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on airline passengers' recovery satisfaction: An experimental study

33. Post COVID-19 teleworking and car use intentions. Evidence from large scale GPS-tracking and survey data in the Netherlands

34. Chronicles from the new normal: Urban planning, mobility and land-use management in the face of the COVID-19 crisis

Table 3 further shows the most recent papers released from the Web of Science in 2022 (as of February 12). Non-transport journals continue to show a high interest in transport-oriented research in the context of COVID-19, mostly related to environment and tourism.

Table 3

Transport-related COVID-19 papers published in 2022 (Web of Science).

Authors	Paper titles	Journals
Matsuura, T; Saito, H	The COVID-19 pandemic and domestic travel subsidies	Annals Of Tourism Research
Kim, S; Wong, AKF; Han, H; Yeung, MW	How does the COVID-19 pandemic influence travel industry employees in Hong Kong? Structural relationships among airline crew's job-related stressors, mental health and other consequences	Asia Pacific Journal Of Tourism Research
Perez-Martinez, PJ; Magalhaes, T; Maciel, I; de Miranda, RM; Kumar, P	Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the air quality of the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo: Analysis based on satellite data, monitoring stations and records of annual average daily traffic volumes on the main access roads to the city	Atmosphere
Klemm, O; Ahrens, A; Arnswald, M; 18 more authors	The impact of traffic and meteorology on urban particle mass and particle number concentrations: Student-led studies using mobile measurements before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns	Atmosphere
Treesatayapun, C	Epidemic model dynamics and fuzzy neural-network optimal control with impulsive traveling and migrating: Case study of COVID-19 vaccination	Biomedical Signal Processing And Control
Zou, YK; Yang, W; Lai, JJ; Hou, JW; Lin, W	Vaccination and quarantine effect on COVID-19 transmission dynamics incorporating Chinese-Spring-Festival travel rush: Modeling and simulations	Bulletin Of Mathematical Biology
Zhan, L; Zeng, XM; Morrison, AM; Liang, H; Coca-Stefaniak, JA	A risk perception scale for travel to a crisis epicentre: visiting Wuhan after COVID-19	Current Issues In Tourism
Aebli, A; Volgger, M; Taplin, R	A two-dimensional approach to travel motivation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic	Current Issues In Tourism
Kochling, A; Engeset, MG; Reif, J; Yarar, N; Ritalahti, J; Holmberg, E; Velvin, J	Between fearful homebodies and carefree travel lovers: identifying tourist segments during the Covid-19 pandemic in Finland, Germany, and Norway	Current Issues In Tourism
Liu, XY; Yuan, Y; He, J; Li, ZY	Framing the travel livestreaming in China: a new star rising under the COVID-19	Current Issues In Tourism
Quintal, V; Sung, B; Lee, S	Is the coast clear? Trust, risk-reducing behaviours and anxiety toward cruise travel in the wake of COVID-19	Current Issues In Tourism
Lee, HY; Leung, KYK	Island ferry travel during COVID-19: charting the recovery of local tourism in Hong Kong	Current Issues In Tourism
Chemli, S; Toanoglou, M; Valeri, M	The impact of Covid-19 media coverage on tourist's awareness for future traveling	Current Issues In Tourism
Wang, MZ; Kunasekaran, P; Rasoolimanesh, SM	What influences people's willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for international travel?	Current Issues In Tourism
O'Garra, T; Fouquet, R	Willingness to reduce travel consumption to support a low-carbon transition beyond COVID-19	Ecological Economics
Bazzana, D; Cohen, JJ; Golinucci, N; 6 more authors	A multi-disciplinary approach to estimate the medium-term impact of COVID-19 on transport and energy: A case study for Italy	Energy
Broomandi, P; Tleuken, A; Zhaxylykov, S; Nikfal, A; Kim, JR; Karaca, F	Assessment of potential benefits of traffic and urban mobility reductions during COVID-19 lockdowns: dose-response calculations for material corrosions on built cultural heritage	Environmental Science And Pollution Research
Vrabac, D; Shang, MF; Butler, B; Pham, J; Stern, R; Pare, PE	Capturing the effects of transportation on the spread of COVID-19 With a multi-networked SEIR model	IEEE Control Systems Letters
Hanna, S	Transport and dispersion of tracers simulating COVID-19 aerosols in passenger aircraft	Indoor Air
Subbarao, SSV; Kadali, R	Impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on the public transportation system and strategic plans to improve PT ridership: a review	Innovative Infrastructure Solutions
Alharbi, BH; Alhazmi, HA; Aldhafeeri, ZM	Air quality of work, residential, and traffic areas during the COVID-19 lockdown with insights to improve air quality	International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health
Morar, C; Tiba, A; Jovanovic, T; 14 more authors	Supporting tourism by assessing the predictors of COVID-19 vaccination for travel reasons	International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health
Zhang, WT; Li, S; Gao, YX; Liu, WP; Jiao, YK; Zeng, C; Gao, L; Wang, TW	Travel changes and equitable access to urban parks in the post COVID-19 pandemic period: Evidence from Wuhan, China	Journal Of Environmental Management
Ekinci, Y; Gursoy, D; Can, AS; Williams, NL	Does travel desire influence COVID-19 vaccination intentions?	Journal Of Hospitality Marketing & Management
Lu, L; Lee, L; Wu, L; Li, X	Healing the pain: does COVID-19 isolation drive intentions to seek travel and hospitality experiences?	Journal Of Hospitality Marketing & Management
Liu, ZY; Wang, XK; Dai, JC; Li, XM; Li, RM	Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on travel behavior in large cities of China: Investigation on the lockdown and reopening phases	Journal Of Transportation Engineering Part A-Systems
Zheng, DN; Luo, QJ; Ritchie, BW	The role of trust in mitigating perceived threat, fear, and travel avoidance after a pandemic outbreak: A multigroup analysis	Journal Of Travel Research
Asari, Y	Decreased traffic volume during COVID-19 did not reduce roadkill on fenced highway network in Japan	Landscape And Ecological Engineering
Yoo, JW; Park, J; Lee, JH; Park, H	Recovering from the COVID-19 shock: the role of risk perception and perceived effectiveness of protective measures on travel intention during the pandemic	Service Business
Choe, Y; Kim, H; Choi, Y	Willingness to pay for travel insurance as a risk reduction behavior: health-related risk perception after the outbreak of COVID-19	Service Business
Sebby, AG; Jordan, K; Brewer, P	Travel decisions: The COVID-19 paradigm shift on the use of travel aggregator websites for vacation planning	Tourism
Shin, H; Nicolau, JL; Kang, J; Sharma, A; Lee, H	Travel decision determinants during and after COVID-19: The role of tourist trust, travel constraints, and attitudinal factors	Tourism Management
Zhang, SN; Li, YQ; Ruan, WQ; Liu, CH	Would you enjoy virtual travel? The characteristics and causes of virtual tourists' sentiment under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic	Tourism Management
Truong, D; Truong, MD	Impacts of daily travel by distances on the spread of COVID-19: An artificial neural network model	Transportation Research Record
Dave, R; Choudhari, T; Maji, A; Bhatia, U	Quantitative Framework for Establishing Low-Risk Inter-District Travel Corridors During COVID-19	Transportation Research Record
Johnson, C; Dukes, K; Sinnwell, E; Culp, K; Zinnel, D; Corwin, C	Innovative cohort process to minimize COVID-19 infection for migrant farmworkers during travel to Iowa	Workplace Health & Safety
Egger, PH; Zhu, JQ	How COVID-19 travels in- and outside of value chains and then affects the stock market: Evidence from China	World Economy

More and more data are available to properly evaluate the effects of transport policy measures. To address the impacts of COVID-19 and recovery from the pandemic, research on evidence-based policymaking has become more and more important. In this regard, the current special issue can be distinguished from existing special issues in terms of its policymaking focus.

Final remarks

March 11, 2022, marks two years since the WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic. Our human society experienced many pandemics in history; however, there are still many unknowns that are urgently needed to be uncovered based on scientific investigations. Keeping various ethical, legal, and/or social issues in mind, the 13 papers in this special issue examined (1) how and how much COVID-19 affected the passenger transport sector, how to better capture/understand the impacts, and what the policy implications of the impacts were; (2) what kinds of immediate measures were taken to address the impacts of COVID-19 and how effective they were; (3) how people adapted their activity participation and trip making during the pandemic and how to understand such adaptation for future transport policymaking; (4) how to understand and address long-term issues from the perspective of pandemic policy strategies; and (5) how different stakeholders were involved in policymaking and implementation from a cross-sectoral perspective, and what kinds of institutional design are useful for supporting broad and effective involvement of various stakeholders. A wide range of data and methodologies were used to answer the above questions, and by targeting many countries, various policy implications and recommendations have been derived. These will be useful for revisiting existing pandemic policymaking and preparing for future pandemics. Even though the pandemic is still going on, the findings, policy implications and recommendations from this special issue have a long-lasting value.

As of February 14, 2022, about 60% of the global population had been vaccinated at least once, but the corresponding share in low-income countries was only about 10%.4 Among the many unresolved questions, we think the most important questions should be (1) how to address the impacts of COVID-19; and (2) when and how to recover to a ‘new normal’. Among all research topics, research on pandemic policymaking should continue to be given the highest priority from various angles (e.g., laws and regulations, economic measures, technologies, risk communication, behavioral interventions). Because there are so many stakeholders, consensus building is crucial; consequently, more evidence related to policymaking should be accumulated. During the recovery phase of the pandemic, the central government of each country has to play the key role, even though local governments' roles are also critical when it comes to implementing central government policies. Public health centered cross-sectional policymaking is extremely important, where the role of the transport sector should be emphasized, and lessons from history and across countries can be shared. In addition, we have not fully answered what preparations had been made in the transport sector and/or related sectors prior to the pandemic: e.g., guidelines, contingency planning, and capacity building; how and how much preparedness mitigated the spread of COVID-19; and if no preparation was made, then why; what factors encouraged or discouraged sectoral preparedness; what kinds of precautionary measures were taken, based on preparations, and how effective they were. All of the papers in this special issue summarize policymaking challenges and areas needing more research.

During and after the call for papers for this special issue, additional papers have been published (Table 3) and other special issues are under edition, as shown in Table 4 . Furthermore, the first book on COVID-19 and transport (Zhang and Hayashi, 2022) in the literature will be released in May 2022, with other books in the pipeline (e.g., Van Acker et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2022; Zhang, 2023). More and more data will be available, which will help increase our understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 and related policymaking mechanisms. Thus, the collective efforts of more and more researchers will help to advance scientifically sound insights into pandemic control and recovery policymaking, as well as support preparations for future pandemics.

Table 4

Ongoing special issues in key transport journals.

Journals	Topics (copied from corresponding websites)
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems	https://ascelibrary.org/pb-assets/images/CUSTOM%20PAGES/FILES/TE%20Special%20Collection%20COVID-1614970997900.pdf
	• Case studies of operational, environmental, and safety effects of the COVID 19 pandemic on transportation systems;
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Transportation Engineering	• Changes to the transportation system because of the COVID 19 pandemic (e.g., telecommuting, e-commerce) that will affect the planning, operation and maintenance of transportation systems;
	• Analysis of the global and national spread of pandemics using epidemiological, transportation and/or activity-based models;
	• Approaches to making our transportation systems more resilient, reliable, safer, and sustainable in response to future pandemics;
	• Studies on how to better plan and prepare our transportation system for disruptions brought about by future pandemics and concurrent hazards; and
	• Papers on the interconnectedness of the transportation system to other lifeline systems that were disrupted as a result of the pandemic.
Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/transportation-research-part-a-policy-and-practice/call-for-papers/call-for-paper-on-the-special-issue-air-transportation-strategies-and-policies
Air Transportation: Strategies and Policies	• COVID19 and air transportation
	• Post-COVID19 strategies and policies
	• Air transport demand
	• Air transportation and economic development
	• Airline network analysis
	• Sustainability in air transportation
	• Intermodal operations and modal competition
	• Airline economics and policy
	• Airport economics and policy
	• Economic, business, and policy impacts of air cargo and e-commerce
	• Environmental policies in aviation (evaluation of environmental policies on aviation: measurements of effects, computations of all kind of pollutants are out of scope)
	• Air transportation policies: ex-post and ex-ante evaluation
	• Marketing and consumer behavior in air transport
Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/transportation-research-part-d-transport-and-environment/call-for-papers/long-term-implications-of-covid-19-for-transport
Looking Forward: The Long-term Implications of COVID-19 for Transport and the Environment	• The long-term changes in tele-activities (e.g., telecommuting, online shopping, online schooling, telemedicine, and videoconferencing) and associated travel and environmental outcomes.
	• The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ownership and/or use of different ground transportation systems, e.g., privately-owned vehicles, public transport, and shared mobility (e.g., carpooling, taxi, ride-sourcing, E-scooter and bike-sharing), as well as on non-motorized transport choices.
	• The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on home and/or work location choices (the latter influenced by employers as well as by workers), and their implications for travel and environmental outcomes.
	• The future of long-distance travel as influenced by COVID-19 and possible future pandemics.
	• The adaptation of cities and public transport systems, the aviation industry (including airlines, airports and auxiliary service providers), and inter-city railway and coach services (e.g., planning, operation) to both the COVID-19 pandemic itself, and to changes in travel demand brought on by the pandemic.
	• The differential impact of all the above on different populations and economic sectors, and the associated impact on transport equity.
Transportation Research Record	https://trb.secure-platform.com/a/page/covidspecialissue
COVID-19 and Transportation	• The COVID-19 pandemic and the use of various travel modes
	• The COVID-19 pandemic, telecommuting, and activity organization
	• E-commerce and its impacts on shopping trips
	• Travel to access health facilities
	• Land use, long-term choices (e.g. residential location) and the disruption of the pandemic
	• Temporary vs. long-term impacts of the pandemic
	• How transportation has affected the spread of COVID-19
Travel Behaviour and Society	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/travel-behaviour-and-society/call-for-papers/post-pandemic-mobility
Post-pandemic mobility	• Whether, to what extent, or in which ways the temporary adoption of virtual activities (e.g., working from home, online shopping, videoconferencing, etc.) during the pandemic may lead to longer-term changes in travel behaviours, and travel-related attitudes;
	• How preferences for, adoption of, and demand for conventional and emerging transportation modes (e.g., solo driving, public transit, ridehailing, micromobility, and autonomous vehicles) have shifted, likely differentially across various population groups in society, as the pandemic progresses;
	• How temporary measures (e.g., temporary bike lanes) taken by the public sector, businesses, residents, or interest/activist groups lead to behavioural changes during the pandemic, and/or affect the likelihood of their continuation;
	• How land use attributes interact with important processes during the pandemic, e.g., the ways the virus spreads out over space and time, the ways residents in cities, suburbs, and rural communities respond to the virus and non-pharmaceutical interventions, and the ways that recovery after peak waves take place;
	• Whether and/or in which ways preferences on residential locations and lifestyles in general change in response to the pandemic, likely in varying ways across socioeconomic groups, and what these changes suggest for the spatial distribution of households, jobs, and their interactions between the central city and outlying suburbs in a post-pandemic era;
	• What are the implications of the pandemic and responses in society on resilient and sustainable urban form, in preparation for possible similar events in the future;
	• How the impacts of the pandemic differ across various population groups in society, which may have exacerbated pre-existing inequalities associated with race, ethnicity, gender, nationalities, educational attainment, income, or geographic locations.