Cork and Dublin traffic volumes see Covid slump 

Car traffic volumes for Cork, during the first week of lockdown, fell nearly 30% week-on-week and tumbled by over 52% on a year-on-year basis.

The move into so-called level 5 Covid restrictions has caused a significant fall in traffic volumes across the country, latest CSO transport data show.

Taking the first full week of the latest ‘lockdown’ restrictions, starting on October 25, traffic volumes fell by 22.3% in Dublin and by 25.5% outside of the capital when compared to the previous week.

On a year-on-year basis, that first week of level 5 lockdown saw regional traffic volumes fall by 55.4% while volumes in Dublin were down by 51.3%, said the CSO.

The figures cover cars, public transport, commercial and haulage traffic. Car traffic volumes for Cork, during the first week of lockdown, fell nearly 30% week-on-week and tumbled by over 52% on a year-on-year basis.

The first study of transport usage issued by the CSO since the second Covid wave hit will be followed on a regular basis to measure the ongoing impact of Covid on transport.

Meanwhile, the CSO said that 211,600 people were on the jobseekers’ allowance live register last month, 4,400 less than in September. Earlier this week, the CSO reported a Covid-adjusted monthly unemployment rate of just over 20% for October, when pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) recipients are included.