POSLOVANJE TRANSPORTNIH KOMPANIJA UZROKOVANO POSLJEDICAMA PANDEMIJE KOVIDA-19/TRANSPORTATION COMPANY BUSINESSES CAUSED BY THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The mass spread of coronavirus in the countries of the Western Balkans started in March 2020. Immediately followed by blockades of catering facilities, closing of schools and colleges, closing of borders, introduction of curfew, and others. These measures directly affected the number of issued trips, and indirectly reduced the volume of transport. In addition to these measures, direct bans on public passenger transport were imposed. Following the easing of bans, measures are introduced to reduce the number of timetables and reduce the number of passengers in vehicles (reduction of vehicle capacity). The governments of the Western Balkan countries, in the form of financial assistance, mitigated the poor financial situation in transport companies, but these funds were not sufficient to compensate for losses from business activities. This paper discusses the reduction of the volume of business of transport companies, makes a comparison with the business in previous years and proposes measures to remedy the consequences. The paper will also analyze the perspectives of the public transport of passengers, with an emphasis on the business of road transport companies, as the backbone of passenger transport in the Western Balkans.