The Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published a report on 'Post-pandemic trends in urban mobility'. It's main finding is that whilst the Covid-19 pandemic triggered significant changes in lifestyles and mobility patterns (which were still evident at the end of 2022), it also raised challenges for transport policy in the short to medium term. While changes in lifestyles – mainly in relation to work patterns – decreased total urban transport activity, the gradual return to pre-pandemic levels suggests that traffic and congestion levels could soon exceed their 2019 levels.
The report identifies trends that influence modal choice and trip distances, with possible negative repercussions in terms of transport costs, congestion and emissions.
The analysis combined a range of data sources and methodologies:
- Changes in mobility patterns were identified using the JRC Travel Survey 2021;
- Traffic congestion levels were monitored through daily TomTom data from 178 cities in the EU;
- Public transport activity was measured using up-to-date statistics from national and local sources.
Find out more on the main findings and long-term challenges by downloading here the full Report.
