Coronavirus: Private and Commercial transport

[IAN]

I know that there’s already a thread in Unleashed re the Coronavirus but as my question is roads related, I hope that it’s appropriate to post it on the main board.

I wondering if the spread of the Coronavirus and the increasing numbers of people working from home is having any noticeable impact on traffic volumes, particularly during the morning and evening peaks. Speaking for myself, the roads I usually travel on are quiet anyway so I haven’t noticed any difference as yet.

I suppose that the numbers of trucks on the road could actually increase as they're needed to constantly transport fresh supplies of toilet rolls, pasta and hand gel!

Ian (M5 Driver)

[danfw194]

I like you travel mostly on quiet roads so it's hard to tell - schools closing (if they ever do) will make a difference. Although one particular morning bottle neck on an adjacent road I pass by seems quieter this week.

[FosseWay]

I've noticed a clear reduction in the number of people on public transport. I don't know whether all these people are driving instead or staying at home, as this week I've either cycled to work or I've been going home at irregular times of day when there's not that much traffic in any case.

[c2R]

I'd say yes, this week has been noticeably quieter on the roads - I did the A40/M40 the other evening from Cheltenham to High Wycombe, and there weren't any of the usual hold ups.

[KeithW]

Cant say I have noticed but then there is little sign of it locally. On Teesside there are 2 cases in Stockton and 1 in Redcar and they self isolated after returning from Italy.

[rhyds]

Conversely, it could be that a number of folks who would usually take the bus or train will want to avoid unnecessary contact and take the car instead

[DB617]

Quite the opposite in Cardiff at the moment, I think, as more people are going to work in the car while avoiding public transport. Almost useless measures as they will then spend the day in their offices with lots of other people, but hey ho. I suspect we will see the M4, A470 and A4232 get quieter over the coming weeks.

[WHBM]

As I wrote on the other thread, at Canary Wharf in London our school has seen an increase in children being brought by car, instead of Underground/DLR/Bus.

So yesterday, guess what, a traffic warden was sent down on a motor bike at 0850, first time one ever seen there, to give out tickets. Not move people on or direct traffic/help in any way, just give out tickets. It's in a dead-end street, by the way. Well done Tower Hamlets council for making a revenue opportunity out of the situation.

[Mark Hewitt]

On commutes to work over the past two weeks I’ve noticed a marked *increase* in traffic.

[ellandback]

No noticeable difference on my stretch of the M62 but as others have suggested I do wonder if that's because people are switching from public transport.

[haymansafc]

I never really see the typical school-run traffic as I'm usually on the road by 7:20am most mornings, so I can't comment on that front.

I'd say I've seen an increase in traffic over the course of this week if anything – as people who would usually take public transport are understandably taking their cars. The A494 (D3 section at Deeside) is notably busier than it usually is during the morning peak and there's two particular sets of traffic lights I come across – one on the A5117 and the other on the B5129 which there's a much larger than usual queue waiting at the red light.

There's usually a bit of a queue on the A494 offslip (eastbound) to the A540/A5117 junction as the traffic lights here hardly let anyone out at the best of times. However for the last two evenings in a row, the queue has been back almost as far as the mainline. This only ever happens if there's been a major problem on the A550 towards Two Mills and motorists coming from Wales divert further along the A494 to the next junction to effectively 'double back' on themselves and approach Two Mills from the A540 instead.

The other routes I use in conjunction with my daily commute are about the same as usual, though.

[linuxrocks]

I haven't noticed any reduction on the trains, there are actually more. Something to do with Cheltenham.

[Bryn666]

Trains seem variable here, so not sure if it's people switching to driving or just absenteeism.

[c2R]

I haven't noticed any reduction on the trains, there are actually more. Something to do with Cheltenham.

Yes, The Travelodge wanted almost £200 for a night when I was looking for a hotel earlier in the week. Needless to say that I stayed further afield....

[rhyds]

Trains seem variable here, so not sure if it's people switching to driving or just absenteeism.

We're ramping up our "work from home" provisions at my firm, so its possible that a lot of folks have stayed at home and telecommuted

[Bryn666]

Trains seem variable here, so not sure if it's people switching to driving or just absenteeism.

We're ramping up our "work from home" provisions at my firm, so its possible that a lot of folks have stayed at home and telecommuted

It'll be interesting to see how many micromanagers are sidelined by this crisis - they must be losing bucketloads of sweat to the idea of workers being allowed to be at home.

[rhyds]

Its certainly refocussing managers to see what can be done to facilitate rather than stop home working. From an IT perspective it all depends on how easy it is to provide external access to work documents and phone calls without overly compromising security.

[Bryn666]

You never know, it might finally highlight the weaknesses of rural infrastructure too...

[Bendo]

Its certainly refocussing managers to see what can be done to facilitate rather than stop home working. From an IT perspective it all depends on how easy it is to provide external access to work documents and phone calls without overly compromising security.

The company I work for have been sorting out our BR plan over the past couple of years, which has included ensuring that we get rid of stuff that can't be used remotely.

We, coincidentally, did a full denial of access test about a month back with no issues, seems we timed that well.

[Truvelo]

I'm in the centre of Congleton right now and it is gridlocked but that will be normal until the bypass opens. When I was out the other day it was just as busy as usual.

I suspect Haymans may have a point about some public transport users driving instead to avoid possible contact.