Press Statement

Preasráiteas

14 September 2020

Go to release: Transport Bulletin 01 March 2020 to 05 September 2020

The CSO has today (14 September 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, Dublin City Council and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. This edition is the first bulletin to include data from cycle counters located around Dublin city.

The data shows that since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the volume of cars on Irish roads has been steadily increasing though recent restrictions have slowed this recovery somewhat. 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 01 March. The COVID-19 restrictions had a significant influence on traffic volumes, the number of journeys on public transport and travel through Irish airports.

 Car traffic volumes for the week ending 05 September were 15.7% lower than 2019 levels at regional locations and 18.9% lower in Dublin. HGV traffic volumes are exceeding 2019 levels for the eleventh consecutive week in selected Dublin locations. Sadly, there have been 13 more fatalities on Irish roads in the first eight months of 2020 compared to 2019’.

 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. It is noteworthy that the volume of bicycles during off-peak hours was 9.4% higher in August 2020 compared to August 2019'.

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.

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