Scientific paper ID 2107 : 2021/3

In recent years, the world economy has experienced rapid development, with ever-increasing economic growth. Road hauliers in the last 2-3 years have faced the challenge ”Mobility Package”, better known in Bulgaria as the ”Macron Package”. Bulgarian transport companies have not yet coped with the new restrictions and rules of operation in the first months of 2020 faced a new type of challenge called Covid 19. For its part, Covid 19 is not only a challenge for Bulgarian carriers, but for all road carriers in the EU. Europe has adopted restrictions in its basic rule on the free movement of goods, capital and people. Road transport as the dominant transport has been paralyzed by a number of bans. This, in turn, has shown businesses in Europe that they must not rely on just one mode of transport, but find flexible solutions for transporting goods. In the first half of 2021, there are still no definitive statistics on the dynamic changes that took place in 2020 during the pandemic, but transport experts are already working harder to address such challenges and increase the share of rail transport. This article examines the place of road and rail transport, taking into account the economic cycles of development.