The number of cars on UK roads could exceed pre-lockdown levels as people shun public transport.
Stockholm and Wuhan have reported an increase in traffic compared to pre-pandemic figures, while roads in Paris and Berlin are almost as busy as they were before the pandemic.
Transport for London (TfL) figures show that the roads were 50% as busy at the end of March, with traffic climbing up to 68% of normal levels by mid-May and reaching 78% by the start of June.
Tom-Tom’s congestion index gives a score of 100% when it would take double the time to make a journey on an empty road. Congestion levels in Birmingham and Wolverhampton peaked at 75% before lockdown before dropping to 20% over the past three months.
However, an average measure for the year, which was 28% in 2019, has climbed from eight per cent in April to 11% over the past week.
