COVID-19 will have a profound long-term impact on transport policy and travel patterns, but rapid change is less likely

Citation

Docherty I & Marsden G (2021) COVID-19 will have a profound long-term impact on transport policy and travel patterns, but rapid change is less likely. University of Stirling Public Policy Blog [Blog post] 09.07.2021. https://policyblog.stir.ac.uk/2021/07/09/covid-19-will-have-a-profound-long-term-impact-on-transport-policy-and-travel-patterns-but-rapid-change-is-less-likely/

Abstract
First paragraph: As road traffic levels creep back towards their pre-pandemic levels and public transport lags behind, it is tempting to come to the conclusion that, as we emerge from social distancing restrictions, transport is in a far worse state than it was when the pandemic started. What happened to the excited visions of a more sustainable future as traffic disappeared and levels of walking and cycling skyrocketed in Spring 2020? In a recent study looking at the evolving policy response to the pandemic, we reflect on why rapid change was never likely to happen. This is not to say that the pandemic will not have a profound impact on policy and travel patterns for the decades that follow.