The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a 30 percent reduction in traffic volume in the U.S. while Italy – one of the countries worst affected by the virus to date – has seen a 70 percent drop, according to new data.
INRIX, the US location data company, is planning to publish its COVID-19 Traffic Synopsis every Monday to show how coronavirus is affecting traffic volumes.
Key findings from the latest report include:
- In the U.S. personal travel dropped through the work week, down 30 percent Thursday and Friday
- Long haul truck traffic is flat, a sign that the national supply chain is holding up so far
- Local area commercial vehicle traffic down near 10 percent, showing a slow overall decline
Rick Schuman, INRIX vice president of public sector Americas, says national decline has topped 30 percent adding that decline in national passenger traffic volume is directly tied to a decline in total trips, with distance-per-trip increasingly slightly from 9.2 miles to 9.4 miles.
“With the reduction in congestion, we are seeing slightly shorter trip times, with 18.5 minutes per trip dropping to 17.8 minutes,” said Schuman.
“A silver lining, if there is one, is that commercial traffic is holding up. Long haul truck traffic is holding steady – a hopeful sign as we clearly need the nation’s logistics backbone to continue to function.”
According to Schuman, local fleets, such as service vehicles and local deliveries, are experiencing a drop nationwide, slightly under 10 percent through the week.
