Skip to main content

European traffic volumes moving back to fast lane

Most countries are getting back to pre-Covid levels of activity
By David Arminas July 31, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Still lots of room for more vehicles on Europe's roads (© Kloeg008 | Dreamstime.com)

Vehicle miles travelled (VMT) in the UK are running at 83% of pre-Covid levels, according to the latest pan-European figures compiled by analytics and connected car specialist Inrix.

The VMT update, called European Passenger Travel During Covid-19, covers the beginning of March to the end of June. It shows the impact of lockdown on traffic on European roads.

Throughout Europe, 16 of the 19 countries analysed have reached their respective pre-Covid levels of travel.

Belgium, Ireland and the UK are lagging behind and Spain continues its large VMT growth at an average of 19% per week for the month.

In the UK, Liverpool is the only area to surpass the national level.

This indicates much more travel is happening outside of major metropolitan areas, as people work from home and employment centre activity remains low, said the company.

Over the past four weeks, London has averaged a growth rate of 3% and Cardiff saw growth of 7%.

While this difference seems minimal, notes Inrix, it shows that the VMT in Cardiff is actually growing at a rate that is 75% faster than London.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • European tunnel upgrades following new safety legislation
    August 20, 2015
    Across Europe there is a very mixed picture of compliance to latest safety standards for road tunnels. Best practice has emerged, however, in the wake of European legislation. Jon Masters reports High profile fatal fires following accidents in the Mont Blanc, Tauern and Gotthard tunnels prompted the 2004 European Union Directive 2004/54 on road tunnel safety. This meant all EU member states would have to meet new standards of safety in road tunnels by 30 April 2014. The Directive applied to all tunnels over
  • Alcohol interlocks aid drink drive adherence
    October 28, 2016
    The use of alcohol interlocks to prevent drink driving and change driver behaviour is gaining ground around the world but needs greater buy-in from authorities as Colin Sowman discovers. The often repeated mantra says that prevention is better than cure - and none more so than in the case of drink-driving. The introduction of the breathalyser provided an objective indication of alcohol consumption instead of having drivers touch their nose or walk in a straight line. Initially breathalysers were used as a r
  • San Francisco plans express lane network across Bay Area
    February 25, 2015
    Colin Sowman looks at plans to convert 240km (150 miles) of HOV/car pool lanes. While some authorities have debated the conversion of high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) into express or managed lanes allowing toll paying single-occupant vehicles to avoid congestion, San Francisco’s Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has acted. It is converting 240km (150 miles) of HOV/car pool lanes to express lanes and last fall the MTC’s Bay Area Infrastructure Financing Authority selected TransCore to d
  • Mobility itself is moving says cubic
    June 9, 2015
    Cubic’s Chris Bax looks at the challenges and benefits of implementing transport as a service. Imagine paying for travel in exactly the same way you buy your phone service. For example, you would pay a set amount in exchange for a monthly travel package covering up to 100km of free taxi journeys in your home city (including a guaranteed 15 minute pickup) and public transport usage within a 1,500km radius of your home. Not only would this option be cheaper than owning and maintaining your own car, you would