The article explored the myriad ways that the COVID-19 pandemic, which has stunted travel due to shelter-in-place orders, has affected businesses that deal directly or indirectly with car-based travel. McCarthy spoke to the potential implications of the shutdown and what businesses could be hit hardest.

Excerpt:

Things are slowly starting to improve, according to local business owners interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but the prospect of a long-term economic downturn has some experts predicting the car industry will look much different once the pandemic is over.

“The firms that are going to suffer the most are the ones that were on the edge at the beginning,” said Patrick McCarthy, a Georgia Tech professor who specializes in transportation economics. “Those firms are going to have a lot of trouble coming back.”