Fitch – Return to normalcy on Greek roads in the second quarter of 2023

The impact of the pandemic on road traffic, thus affecting economic activity, is reported in the quarterly report of Fitch Ratings, taking into account the course of cases and vaccinations. For Greece in particular, the return of normalcy on the roads will be delayed until the second quarter of 2023.

The report estimates that globally the lifting of restrictive measures in conjunction with vaccinations has boosted economies and allowed for a gradual, partial restoration of road traffic. Although the full restoration of traffic on the roads for most countries will still be delayed, starting from the second half of 2022 to the first half of 2023.

Regarding Greece, there is a clear improvement in the situation since last April, as the restrictions began to ease around mid-May.

It is recalled that the traffic on the Greek roads was limited by the increase of cases and the resumption of the national lockdown, in November 2020, which further slowed down the course of economic recovery. Overall for 2020, the decline in road traffic was at the same level as other European countries.

With the lifting of the restrictive measures from spring, the traffic on the roads was restored to the levels that it stood at in 2019, in July 2021. In Greece, moreover, as in other European countries, the rate of vaccinations increased significantly from the first quarter of 2021, a course that is expected to help even more in restoring road traffic.

Specifically, the report points out the following:

Traffic on Greek roads will be fully restored by the second quarter of 2023.
By early September, about 11 million doses of vaccine had been administered, a proportion of at least one dose for 57% of the population, while 54% were fully vaccinated. This is practically far ahead of the 6 million doses administered by June 2021 and the less than 1 million doses administered by early March 2021. This is a number of vaccinations that places Greece just marginally behind other European countries.
In terms of road traffic, Greece was slightly less affected than other European countries during the second quarter of 2020 with the largest recorded drop to 73% in downtown Athens. Road traffic was significantly affected in October and November 2020 with a drop of more than 40%. For the whole of 2020, the decline was 25%, a percentage similar to the average of other European countries. However, from the first quarter of 2021, road traffic has improved, reaching its peak during the summer.
The lockdown lasted 42 days from March to May 2020. In November 2020, due to the significant increase in cases, the country returned to a national lockdown. Authorities lifted most of the restrictions by mid-May 2021.
The total (financial) government support under the emergency aid package to citizens and businesses affected amounted to 3.3 billion euros, along with the possibility of tax and insurance arrangements.