Public transport journeys and car traffic volumes in July were still below pre-pandemic levels. New data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that public transport journeys in the week beginning 25 July 2022 were 80% of the number taken in the first week of March 2020.
Bus journeys in Dublin were 78% of pre-Covid levels, while bus journeys outside of Dublin were at 87%, and rail journeys were at 82%. Luas journeys also remained below pre-Covid-19 levels, with trips on the green line at 75% of 2019 levels, and the red line at 81%.
In the last week in July, car traffic volumes in Dublin were 12% lower than the same week in 2019, while regional traffic volumes were 8% lower. In terms of heavy good vehicles (HGV), the traffic count data was broadly in line with 2021 values, and was up on 2019, with Dublin showing a 5% increase for week 30 versus the same week in 2019.
Today’s CSO figures also show the number of new cars licensed last month fell by 5,154 or 25% compared with the same month last year. “There were 15,078 new private cars and 4,118 used imported private cars licensed in July 2022,” said Dr Nele van der Wielen, Statistician in the Transport Division of the CSO.
“Compared to July 2021, this was a decrease of 25% for new private cars and a fall of 26% for used private cars,” he added.
Article Source: Car traffic volumes in July still below pre-Covid levels – Gill Stedman – RTE