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

  • Israel aspires to ITS-led future
    May 29, 2013
    Shay Soffer, Chief Scientist with the Israel National Road Safety Authority, talks to Jason Barnes about his country’s current ITS outlook and how he sees this developing in the future. Israel ranks alongside countries such as the US and France in the road safety stakes, with an average 7.1 deaths per billion kilometres driven. But at that point the similarities end, as the country’s overriding issue is pedestrian safety. This is driven by several factors, including being a relatively small country where pe
  • Telvent relocates and takes a global stance on ITS
    March 12, 2012
    Telvent's Manuel Sanchez Ortega, on relocating the company's headquarters to the US and how that fits in the international scheme of things. The change-of-address cards are in the post; Manuel Sanchez Ortega has just moved homes. The domestic upheaval of Telvent's Chairman and Chief Executive comes as a result of the decision to relocate many of the company's headquarter functions from Madrid to Rockville, Maryland in the US. Viewed in the context of its significant recent acquisitions in North America - am
  • Rental e-scooter trials begin in UK
    July 6, 2020
    Privately-owned scooters remain illegal on UK roads
  • Standardise micromobility KPIs, urges Ramboll report
    April 23, 2020
    Transportation consultancy Ramboll is urging cities to adopt standardised key performance indicators (KPIs) when attempting to integrate micromobility into their transportation networks.