Transport and Mobility

Abstract

After the fall of communism, the Emerging European Economies inherited a transport sector characterised by low car ownership rates, heavy reliance on public transport, and a sparse infrastructure network. This chapter presents a systematic review of the evolution of transport policy through the region’s EU accession, the 2008 financial crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The transport sector is one of the major recipients of EU funding in the region’s economies, but we observe that the objectives of territorial cohesion are not fully met due to inefficiencies in transport project appraisal and ex-post monitoring. This chapter puts an emphasis on emerging transport technologies, such as electrification, automation, and micromobility, alongside discussing the prevalence of online forms of activity participation. We argue that the density of public transport provision, the changes in spatio-temporal travel patterns during the pandemic, and the time lag in the adoption of travel habits, such as online shopping, offer an opportunity to leapfrog the challenges that are already visible in Western European cities. Towards this end, we present a number of policy recommendations aimed at the transport sector.