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.

Classification & Data Collection

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Growth of telematics-based pay as you drive car insurance systems
    July 17, 2012
    Car insurance made cheaper by telematics has returned to news headlines in the UK this year. Will it really take off this time and can vehicle tracking provide an effective tool for enforcing or encouraging insurance compliance? Jon Masters reports Will 2012 go down as the year that telematics-based car insurance took off? In the UK at least, a groundswell of new policies, with premiums priced on the basis of tracked and analysed driving style, suggests a turning point has been reached. Some would argue t
    Read More
  • Social media a one-stop shop for travel information
    January 20, 2012
    Exponentially widening mobile phone ownership is opening up the field to new ways of obtaining and disseminating better travel information from and to public transport users, via for example social media and tracking riders' phones. Over 50 US transit agencies, including major actors such as TriMet, in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Texas, and San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), as well as smaller operators, now have Facebook and/or Twitter accoun
    Read More
  • Smoothing out city freight movements
    May 28, 2014
    David Crawford welcomes a national first. Urban freight movements, while commercially and socially vital, are a growing logistical headache for planners and people alike. Figures from France’s Lyon Laboratory of Transport Economics indicate that goods transport in major urban areas accounts for: 20% of traffic; 35% of CO2 emissions made by all urban trips; and 50% of the diesel used; while final km delivery runs account for 20% of the total cost of the transport chain.
    Read More
  • Europe’s public transport ITS market expected to exceed US$1.9 billion by 2017
    November 18, 2013
    According to new research from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the market value for public transport intelligent transport systems (ITS) in Europe was US$1.3 billion in 2012. Growing at a compound annual growth rate of nine per cent, the market is expected to reach US$1.9 billion by 2017. Berg Insight suggests that the European market for ITS for public transport is in a growth phase which will continue throughout the forecasted period. The fluctuating economic climate has in most countries had little eff
    Read More

Highlighted Content