Press Statement

Preasráiteas

27 July 2020

Go to release: Transport Bulletin 01 March 2020 to 18 July 2020

The CSO has today (27 July 2020) published its latest transport bulletin. The bulletin captures the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on traffic volumes and the number of journeys taken on public transport. This bulletin is compiled using data collected by the Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Road Safety Authority, the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

The data shows that since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the volume of cars is returning to pre--pandemic levels. The volume of HGVs is now greater than it was for the same period last year in both Dublin and in the regional locations measured.

Commenting on this latest bulletin, Olive Loughnane, Statistician, said: ‘This bulletin analyses traffic counter data from selected sites to examine the changes that have occurred in traffic volumes since 1 March. The COVID-19 restrictions had a significant influence on traffic volumes, the number of journeys on public transport and travel through Irish airports.

As restrictions ease, car traffic volumes for the week ending 18 July were just 16.1% lower than 2019 levels at regional locations and 20.0% lower in Dublin. HGV traffic volumes are exceeding 2019 levels for the third consecutive week.’

Further commenting on the Transport Bulletin, Olive Loughnane said: ‘The number of passenger journeys on public transport has dropped dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 crisis with journeys by rail most severely hit. Public transport volumes are recovering at a much slower rate than road traffic. Data from Irish airports shows that air transport continues to be heavily impacted by restrictions. June was the third consecutive month when passengers handled by Irish airports were down by 97% or more, compared to last year.’

This bulletin will be updated on a regular basis to measure the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on transport. Future editions will be located in the CSO COVID-19 Information Hub.

-- ENDS --