How COVID-19 transformed the landscape of transportation research: an integrative scoping review and roadmap for future research

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars mobilized their efforts to address its far-reaching societal problems. With mobility restrictions being front and center of the pandemic, a new cohort of transportation science was developed within a short period of time. Here, we examine more than 400 studies related to COVID-19 published across transportation journals during 2020 and 2021. The aim is (i) to scope this newly developed segment of transportation research, (ii) outline the diversity of pandemic-related issues across various divisions of the transportation field and (iii) provide a roadmap for the future of this line of research. Common themes are identified and existing congruence and discrepancies across findings are discussed. Results show that although conventional methods of transportation research were adopted in virtually all COVID-19 studies, no pre-pandemic study was particularly instrumental in the development of this segment of transportation literature. The COVID-19 segment appears to have developed its own independent knowledge foundation, in that, it does not systemically and frequently look back at any particular pre-pandemic reference. Potential impacts of this newly developed segment on the metrics of transportation journals are quantified and discussed.

Automated summary

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars have actively addressed its far-reaching societal problems. A new field of transportation science has quickly emerged, focusing on mobility restrictions during the pandemic. This study examines over 400 COVID-19-related studies published in transportation journals between 2020 and 2021, aiming to scope this newly developed research area, outline its diversity, and provide a roadmap for future research. The results show that the COVID-19 segment has developed its own knowledge foundation independent of pre-pandemic studies, and its potential impacts on transportation journals are quantified and discussed.