Public transport usage down 'due to social-distancing'
Public transport usage has fallen in the West Midlands due to social distancing, it has been said.
Edmund King, president of The AA, says commuters are opting to take their cars over safety concerns of catching Covid-19.
He told a panel of experts - during a debate on coronavirus and its impact on transport - that most commuters will avoid using public transport in the short term.
And he called for more ideas on how people can commute using greener methods in the future.
He said: "Yes in the shorter term, people will avoid public transport because of social distancing.
"And some people may use cars where they would have used public transport in the short term.
"In the medium term, we need more thinking in some of our metropolitan areas.
"One of the things we have advocated is park and pedal around urban areas."
Habits
Mr King quoted statistics from a recent AA survey of 18,129 drivers showing how driving habits have changed amid the lockdown.
"Drivers are changing and I think lockdown has made many drivers think about their journeys and local journeys," he said.
The response from members of the public showed that: half of motorists say they will walk more, four in ten will drive less, one fifth will cycle more and one quarter will work from home more.
Working from home is an initiative that Mr King feels is enthusiastic about and questioned using offices in the future.
"Quite frankly, do we need that much office space?" he said.
He revealed the AA - which has an emergency centre in Oldbury - has had thousands of employees working from home since the Covid-19 outbreak began.
