Civil Engineering May 2022 | Vol 30 No 4

44 May 2022 Civil Engineering Figure 3 shows the cross-border tourist permits issued over the ten-year period (23 185) with various permit volumes reported as follows: Q Q 2011 – 10% Q Q 2012 – 8.4% Q Q 2013 – 7.3% Q Q 2014 – 9.5% Q Q 2015 – 10.1% Q Q 2016 – 8.2% Q Q 2017 – 10.7% Q Q 2018 – 12% Q Q 2019 – 11.5% Q Q 2020 – 11.9% Q Q 2021 – 0.2%. Ten-year comparison of cross-border passenger permit statistics Figure 4 (page 43) shows the comparison of passenger permits issued over a ten-year period. The taxi permits issued were more than 12 000 over the decade, compared to permits issued for tourist and bus operations which ranged below 3 000. Furthermore, from 2020 the number of taxi permits issued followed an upward trend reaching 27 000, with other cross- border passenger permit categories not reaching the 3 000 threshold. FINDINGS The major findings of the study are: Q Q The Covid-19 pandemic heavily affected public passenger transport operations and passenger movements Q Q Bus operators reported significant dis- ruptions and sizeable operating losses owing to the Covid-19 pandemic Q Q Likewise, minibus taxi operators were severely affected by capacity restric- tions and (ongoing) low demand Q Q Cross-border passenger transport operations came to a complete stand- still apart from repatriation of foreign citizens which involved operation of only a few buses Q Q Job losses and even closures of some businesses in the cross-border industry, particularly in the travel and tourism industry, were experienced Q Q The lack of harmonisation in the Covid-19 response strategies between countries further worsened the impact of the pandemic on cross-border operations. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations are aimed at addressing some of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the industry: Q Q Lockdowns should be reviewed and may no longer be necessary as vac- cinated populations have increased, warranting the easing of hard lock- down restrictions Q Q There is need for the gradual re-opening of cross-border passenger operations, which must be monitored and coordi- nated by the respective countries Q Q Harmonised rules and standard oper- ating procedures should be promoted and implemented at border posts Q Q Support must be given to operators severely affected by the Covid-19 pan- demic to enable them to re-establish and resume operations Q Q There should be mutual recognition of Covid-19 test results by regulatory authorities in different countries Q Q The operations of regulatory authori- ties should be increasingly digitalised to limit human interaction and paperwork.  REFERENCES Aloi, A., Alonso, B., Benavente, J., Cordera, R., Echániz, E., González, F., Ladisa, C., Lezama-Romanelli, R., López-Parra, A., Mazzei, V., Perrucci, L., Prieto-Quintana, D., Rodríguez, A. and Sañudo, R. 2020. 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