Europe’s Driving Recovery Stalls With Virus Restrictions Growing

(Bloomberg) -- There are signs across Western Europe that drivers are again shying away from the roads, as governments implement a new tranche of measures to try to block the spread of Covid-19.

On toll motorways in Spain, traffic is down about a fifth from a year ago -- the most since the end of August -- while in France the drop was the biggest since July, according to the latest data from Atlantia SpA, which manages the roads.

It’s the first sign of a pullback in the region’s traffic, which had held up well over the summer as people drove to their vacations instead of flying. A trend to shun public transportation had also bolstered car use for commuting and school runs, with gasoline being one of the brighter corners of the fragile recovery in oil demand.

Now though, governments are taking new steps to try to stop the growing threat of coronavirus, after record case numbers were seen in recent days. Bars in Paris were ordered to close for at least two weeks and the U.K. is instigating targeted lock-downs in parts of the country.

For Britain, government data show that vehicle use has slumped since tighter restrictions were put in place. Motor vehicle use was at 89% of early February levels in the week through Oct. 5, down from 97% two weeks earlier.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.