Press Statement

Preasráiteas

14 June 2021

Go to release: Transport Bulletin July 2021

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (13 July 2021) published its latest Transport Bulletin. The bulletin captures the impact of the latest COVID-19 restrictions on traffic volumes and the number of journeys taken on public transport. This bulletin is compiled using data collected by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Road Safety Authority, the National Transport Authority, Dublin City Council, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Transport.

The bulletin shows that in line with the gradual lifting of travel restrictions, car traffic volumes increased over the first half of 2021. Car traffic volumes have not returned to pre-COVID-19 levels but the gap between 2021 and 2019 figures is gradually declining.

Commenting on this latest bulletin, Nele van der Wielen, Statistician, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show that car traffic volumes increased over the first half of 2021 in line with the gradual lifting of travel restrictions. Latest available data for the week beginning 28 June show that car traffic volumes were 115% higher in selected regional sites compared with week one of this year.

Car traffic volumes continue to remain below 2019 levels but the gap between 2021 and 2019 figures is gradually declining. The volume of private cars in the regional locations was 32% higher in the week beginning 28 June (week 26) than it was in the same week of 2020. Car traffic volumes were still 10% lower than in week 26 of 2019. However, in week one of 2021 regional traffic count volumes were 47% below 2019 levels.”

Further commenting on the Transport Bulletin, Nele van der Wielen said: “COVID-19 continues to have a major impact on airport passenger numbers, however, the number of passengers travelling through Dublin airport in May 2021 grew by 26% compared with the previous month.”

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

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