Govt Transport Figures

[Hopkirk]

At the press conferences, the government shows graphs of transport usage.

How do they measure these statistics? In particular, how do they get the figure for private car usage?

[fiction-factory]

Train, tube should be easy based on tickets.
Car journeys- I assumed they have sampling /counting points - there are enough cameras to make it fairly easy

[Hopkirk]

Are all our cars silently reporting on us?

[fiction-factory]

I'm sure that for some time automatic counters are in place - maybe built into some road surfaces or via other sensors at certain points to measure traffic flow.
As a separate issue ANPR cameras can track you- I assume it's how the police identified people travelling 100 miles down motorways to get to seaside resorts, Lake District etc

[drmorgans]

Data from police on fines and penalties for speeding, careless / dangerous driving etc.

I saw one insurance company (Admiral?) was giving a £25 to its car insurance policy holders due to reduced claims.

[fiction-factory]

I'm not sure there's a positive correlation though between number of cars on the road and the number of speeders. The propensity to speed seems to have increased in terms of the number of speeders as a percentage of cars on the road. Boy/girl racers are enjoying the freedom of empty roads

[bhg481]

It's much easier to speed on an empty road than one cluttered up with people dawdling along at the speed limit.

[teacake44]

Fuel consumption.

[jno]

I hope you haven't been mean to your lorry, Hopkirk, it may be seeking revenge.

[mushroom25]

last week I drove 120 miles from home, armed with my "key worker" letter in case I was stopped - which I wasn't, despite passing, or being passed by, several police vehicles, over several police areas.

a good few of the reports I've read about motorists being "caught" making journeys contrary to the covid19 rules, also contain details of other (motoring) laws being broken, which is what probably brought them to the attention of the police.

[jno]

mushroom, I enjoyed the story of the man who took his family from Romford to Brighton for the day - or rather, didn't - because they were bored. They stopped him because he was on the phone. But it also turned out he hadn't got a licence and wasn't insured, and the kids, including the baby, weren't wearing seat belts. They confiscated the car and told the family to make their own way home.

[mushroom25]

here's another example:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-52426051

//Supt Adrian Leisk from the force said the case sent an important message to lockdown rule-breakers //

the message this case sends to me is, if you're going to break the lockdown, don't draw attention to yourself.....