The post-Covid restart is also recorded on the road. With an increase in motorway journeys of 65,7% for light vehicles and almost 20% for heavy ones, theInfoblu Mobility Trend has registered a increase in traffic in Italy in the period 19 January - 2 June 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The new focus on Italian mobility trends is promoted by Infoblu - a company of the Telepass group - in order to photograph traffic movements on the national motorway and road network.
According to data, the increase in motorway journeys is due to the acceleration of activities, both of type economic but also related to more free time. The increase was much more marked on light vehicles which had undergone greater restrictions during the first lockdown. In the period 19 January-2 June 2021, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the distances traveled by this type of vehicle increased overall by 65,7%. In particular, the months that contributed with a greater increase were April (+363% compared to the same month of the previous year) and May (+143,6% against the same period of 2020).
On the other hand, heavy vehicles, which had decreased less, are recovering the gap accumulated during 2020. In the period under consideration, the motorway journeys of heavy vehicles recorded a increase of almost the 20%. Also in this case, the month showing the largest jump is April.
While, the change in heavy vehicles in May on April 2021 shows that the trend (down by 0,21%) is already positioned at the maximum values compatible with the recovery of economic activity and is expected to increase significantly starting from June with the progressive elimination of all restrictions. On the other hand, considering the data per hour on the entire road network, the most evident result is the incidence of curfew on traffic 2021, which caused a decrease in light traffic compared to 2020, despite the lockdown was much stiffer.
“As the Italian leader in infomobility, we want to interpret the trends in traffic on the motorway and road network in our country, thinking that this information can give us ideas for a broader understanding of the situation in which mobility and the economy find themselves. In the coming months, we will also broaden our vision to include the urban context", declared the CEO of Infoblu, Davide Cervellin.
As regards movements on the entire road network, the differences between the various Regions must be related to the trend of the restrictions: the Regions that have undergone more severe restrictions are generally those that see the greatest increase in light traffic. The greatest increases in motorway and road traffic were recorded Piemonte (+71,2% light, +19,7% heavy), Liguria (+67,1% light, +15,5% heavy) e Puglia (+63,7% light, +39,1% heavy). Similar trends were seen in Piedmont and Liguria with a notable leap forward in April (respectively +310,6% and +287,2% for light weights) and a subsequent positive continuation with the Riviera region which was able to benefit from a +143,4% on the occasion of the long weekend of 2 June.
Also in the case of Puglia, the usual strong growth in April (+229%) saw confirmations in the following month and at the beginning of June. Trentino – Alto Adige (+0,6% and +22,6%) in particular and Val D'Aosta (+29,5% and -0,76%) are instead the regions that have been most affected by the restrictions adopted, above all because of closure of ski resorts. The difference between the two areas is also motivated by the different border policies adopted by the two neighboring states (Austria and France). Particularly penalized were the first months of the year with Trentino – Alto Adige 47,2% in January and -56% in February as regards light vehicles while the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc Region suffered a -26% in January and -24,5% in the following month.
On the other hand, during the first two days of June, these Regions recorded considerable motorway and road traffic for light vehicles, among the heaviest in the area, especially the Trentino Alto Adige (+102%) e Val D'Aosta (+211%).
