COVID-19 Action

We are using the global networks of the DFID-funded High-Volume Transport (HVT) Programme to share guidance on dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on transport systems in Low Income Countries (LICs).

What we are doing

We are using HVT’s Technical Advisory Panel to collect and curate information from across the world that is relevant to LICs transport systems. This covers issues such as hygiene and social distancing on public transport, financial stimulus packages and recovery approaches. It also includes LIC-specific challenges like the management of the informal sector or the role of the freight sector on food distribution.  We have compiled a round-up of what the international transport community is doing to support response to COVID 19 in transport systems and surveyed transport experts to understand their information needs. We are hosting all resources on an open access database on the HVT website.

We have supported international collaboration in many ways. We are working with DFID, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ) and the World Bank’s Sustainable Mobility For All (SuM4All) and others to set up an international Task Force on COVID-19 response in LICs.  We are also hosting a series of webinars and sharing insight papers on managing the impact of COVID-19 in transport systems with partners such as the World Road Association (PIARC), the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI), the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and Climate Parliament.

We are leading the agenda for more investigation into the transport/health nexus and transport-related economic impacts such as the growth in remote working, events and tele-medicine and the lasting effects of these changes. This is because a more coordinated, global approach would help assess future policy actions. 

Bernard Obika, the HVT Team Leader said: ‘COVID-19 has exposed many critical areas of required research such as transport-related emission and clean air modelling, infection control on transport systems, transport demand post-Covid-19,  food security and resilience of transport systems etc.   This is an opportunity to work even closer together as a global network with a common vision of enabling sustainable mobility for all.’

What we’ve learnt

Networks are key – Over the last 18 months the HVT programme has focused much energy into forging a strong and diverse ecosystem of transport and development experts.  This made it relatively easy to activate collective support effectively and efficiently.