Inner cities visibly quieter since the beginning of lockdown

Since the new lockdown started on Tuesday, it has been quieter in the cities. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, it was busier before the announcement of the lockdown on Monday than it was the same time one year ago.

Since the new measures were implemented, including the closure of stores, the number of parking transactions has dropped approximately 20 percent compared to last year’s average. This was shown in the data the Parkmobile, a parking app, shared with NOS.

The company can use the Parkmobile and Park-Line apps to trace how many of its users park in inner cities. This can be an important indicator of how many shoppers are visiting malls and downtown areas.

TomTom, a company that produces GPS technology, also found that it has been quieter in inner cities. The company measures the number of users logged into its navigation software in city centers at any given time. Traffic in the cities has dropped since Monday. However, the data shows that it is still busier than during the first lockdown.

The data provided by TomTom and Parkmobile do not show anything about public transport users or pedestrians. According to Apple, which collects user data through its iPhone, there was a decline in the number of public transport users on Tuesday and Wednesday. This decline was also smaller than during the first lockdown. Pedestrian movement did not show any significant decrease.

ANWB, the Dutch national travelers’ association, has also confirmed that it has been quieter on the roads. “It is starting to look more and more like the first lockdown,” said a spokesperson.