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Damien Dunne reports on November’s commuter numbers, after the government requested people to work from home.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) released figures earlier this month that showed the amount of vehicles on Irish roads was within a percent of pre-pandemic numbers. 

The figures show that the number of commuter traffic barely reduced, even after the Government asked people to return to working from home in mid-November.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, TII Communications Manager Sean O’Neill said “there has been a shift in traffic movements. In the full cycle of a day we are only down about 1% on the national network

“Right across the country there is a minor decrease in the percentage range of about 2-3%, but we still have a lot of traffic out there right now. We don’t see a massive decrease. If you look at the time of travel, between 7am and 10am, those are the peak times in the morning and those are the times when, more than likely, people are going to work”

On the 1 December, the TII’s National Road Traffic Report Showed there were 21,347 cars on junctions 6 and 7 of the M50, compared to 23,453 on the 11 November.

Graph shows a marginal dip in road users on the M50 junctions 6 & 7 on above dates

Near Dublin Airport, on junctions 1 and 2 of the M50, 18,848 cars were recorded on December 1 compared to a figure of 20,266 on the 11 November.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) also published figures that showed a marginal fall in passengers when comparing the 11 November (655,000) to the 25 November (637,000).

Iarnród Eireann saw a dip of 10% in passenger numbers between the 11 and 25 of November, with Dublin Bus passenger numbers falling from 331,000 to 314,000 on the same dates.

The run up to Christmas will likely see these figures increase, as people travel over the festive period.