Melbourne traffic: How travel has changed since lockdown began

New data has revealed the staggering impact COVID-19 has had on traffic on our roads and public transport network.

Department of Transport data shows more of us are now moving around the state, but traffic loads are still a long way from normal.

Head of Transport Services at the Department of Transport, Jeroen Weimar, said car traffic has increased sharply in recent weeks.

“We saw about a 40 or 45 per cent reduction in car or road traffic in April,” he told Ross and John.

“It’s getting a little bit busier out there now as the schools are back and people are making a few more local journeys.

“We’re about 18 per cent down on normal traffic volumes across the road network.”

In some areas, however, roads are still far quieter.

On the route to Melbourne Airport, there are just a quarter of the number of cars on the road as there were before the pandemic.

On public transport, people have been much slower to return.

At the lockdown peak, in early April, the number of journeys taken on public transport fell by 90 per cent.

“Now we’re up to about about 28 per cent so 550,000 journeys a day at the moment,” Mr Weimar said.

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