The Central Statistics Office says (CSO) there are 57 per cent fewer journeys now than before the crisis.The amount of cars on the roads meanwhile is returning to normal.
They are down 13 per cent in rural areas compared to the same time last year, and 16 per cent in Dublin.
Conor Faughnan, from the AA, says people are returning to the roads as before.
"For the August bank holiday we were fairly close to August levels when compared to 2019. Most of the main roads were only down 10 per cent or slightly less.
"So we are very nearly back to normal in terms of car volumes for the month of August."
He says that is shows that Ireland is back on the road again with the amount of traffic that has returned.
Journeys by rail and bus 57% lower than pre COVID-19 levelshttps://t.co/EhQxpnpEKD #CSOIreland #Ireland #IrishTransport #TransportIreland #Transport #TransportBulletin #COVID-19 #Logistics #Business #BusinessStatistics pic.twitter.com/VhfAyq3xyH
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) August 17, 2020
The CSO figures show that the volume of cars for the week commencing 02 August was just 12.6 per cent lower in regional locations and 16.3 per cent lower in Dublin than the same week in 2019
The volume of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) measured at selected sites in Dublin since 21 June 2020 exceeds that measured for the same period in 2019
The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on rail journeys was more significant than that on journeys by bus or Luas.
Traffic volumes
Meanwhile, the number of new private cars licensed in first seven months of 2020 fell by more than 31,000 vehicles compared to the same period in 2019
COVID-19 restriction have also had a dramatic impact on airport passenger numbers, according to the CSO.
Commenting on the latest figures, statistician, Olive Loughnane, said:
"This bulletin analyses traffic counter data from selected sites to examine the changes that have occurred in traffic volumes since 1 March.
"The COVID-19 restrictions had a significant influence on traffic volumes, the number of journeys on public transport and travel through Irish airports.
"The number of passenger journeys on public transport has dropped dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 crisis with journeys by rail most severely hit."
In general, she said that public transport volumes are recovering at a much slower rate than road traffic while data from Irish airports shows that air transport continues to be heavily impacted by restrictions as well.
