Tech tracking reveals traffic starting to flow back on roads

Published on 12 February, 2021

Overview

Road traffic across Ireland is significantly higher than during the country’s first lockdown last spring.

Data from hundreds of thousands of smartphones, tracked by Apple and Google, and from in-car ‘satnav’ devices show the increase.

It comes as it emerged last night that 50pc of people are still travelling to work.

The figure is still “significantly” above the number seen in April and May, when only a quarter were going into their workplaces.

“It only takes a marginal increase in mobility or contact to lead to a significant increase in transmission with such an infectious virus,” said Dr Philip Nolan, chair of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group.

Figures from Apple showed traffic is up by around a fifth on the country’s initial lockdown last April.

TomTom’s tracking data says congestion in Dublin – typically represented by traffic jams in hotspots – has more than doubled.

Google’s smartphone tracking figures suggest why traffic and overall movement is higher, with around a quarter more activity around supermarkets and shopping centres. The search giant’s data shows we’re going to supermarkets in almost as great a number as before the pandemic struck, compared to steeper fall-offs during lockdowns last year.

The Google figures also suggest parks are seeing pre-pandemic levels of activity, despite the colder weather. And the data indicates work-from-home policies have not progressed, with the same number of people turning up to work as during the first lockdown when long-term working arrangements were being planned.

Apple’s data indicates public transport use is up around a sixth compared last spring, while going out for a walk is up by a smaller figure.

A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said current passenger numbers were around twice the lowest period of last April.

Traffic, transit and outdoor walking remain marginally lower than in November, when children were still at school. All of the tech giants’ metrics also show traffic remains half the pre-pandemic volume.

Apple and Google say the phone data collected is anonymised to the extent it can’t tell whether movement is more or less pronounced among any age group, gender or other profile.

Across the country, there is some variation in how active people are in cars and getting to places outside their home.

Dublin and Kildare are the only counties in Ireland where at least half of workers are staying home from their usual workplace. Cavan has the highest number of people still attending their place of work, indicating smaller reliance on offices for livelihoods.

Meanwhile, Offaly and Meath have the highest number turning up to supermarkets and food shops, with Google reporting attendance is 3pc higher than before the pandemic began. Almost all other counties’ residents are attending supermarkets less.

The figures come as the Government is indicating the current lockdown is likely to continue longer than first anticipated.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said most existing Covid-related restrictions would remain in place until April at the earliest.

He also cast doubt on any non-essential foreign travel or overseas holidays for the rest of the year, ruling it out completely “for the next number of months”.