London, UK: Hours spent on the road by UK commercial drivers dropped by more than half (55%) between mid-February and April due to lockdown measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anonymous data from the Verizon Connect Reveal platform shows how initial lockdown measures affected commercial vehicle use in the UK and European countries. Commercial drivers in France were hardest hit with recorded hours spent on the road dropping by 58% in the same time period, followed by the UK (55%) and Spain (54%).
The smallest reduction recorded was in Germany, which saw an 11% reduction in hours driven by commercial vehicles, a comparatively smaller impact to the average of 50% across seven European countries.
Additional data from the Verizon Connect Reveal platform also shows how commercial vehicle usage is starting to bounce back as national lockdown measures are gradually lifted.
Despite having the steepest decline in hours driven between mid-February and April, commercial vehicle usage in France has been the fastest to rebound. Data from 7 April to 5 May 5 shows an increase of almost 200% in response to the easing of lockdown measures in the country.
The rate of recovery has been comparatively slower in the UK and Ireland, which saw hours increase 22% and 24% respectively in the same period.
