After COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, restrictions on movement began to be implemented across the world, including in Sub-Saharan Africa. There has been much speculation on what the long-term impacts of the pandemic on urban transport might be.

The aims of this paper is to: identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan African cities; consider the long-term disruptive impacts of the pandemic on mobility and access; and discuss the implications the pandemic has for urban transport policy and practice. To pursue these aims, evidence has been compiled from three sources: findings from a review of 55 published studies; secondary big data gathered by technology companies and research consortia; and a two-wave (n=15) panel survey of experts in Sub-Saharan Africa. ‘Self-perception theory’, ‘land rent theory’, a ‘regulatory cycle’, and ‘time geography’ were theoretical perspectives used to conceptualize possible future impacts, and to interpret findings.