Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport

This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: this article largely reflects the situation in mid-2020, and hasn't had many updates since then. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2021)

The COVID-19 pandemic had a large impact on public transport. Many countries advised that public transport should only be used when essential; passenger numbers fell drastically, and services were reduced. Provision of a reasonable service for the much smaller number of fare-paying passengers incurred large financial losses.

Protective measures such as obligatory mask-wearing and spacing of passengers where possible were introduced, and ventilation and sanitation (disinfection) were implemented. Protection required passengers and operators to make many changes to the way they operated and behaved.