OTTAWA -- As week seven of the physical distancing requirements begins, new data suggests Ottawa residents are asking Apple Maps for fewer directions for walking, driving and public transit destinations across the capital.
Apple has made its Mobility Trends Report publicly available, looking at requests for directions using Apple Maps on devices since the start of the pandemic.
The data shows on Friday, April 24, requests for driving directions were down 44 per cent compared to the baseline for requests. Requests for walking directions were down 51 per cent, while transit directions requests were down 85 per cent in the City of Ottawa.
The City of Ottawa has previously said traffic volume on Ottawa roads was down 50 per cent during the pandemic, while OC Transpo has reported ridership was down 70 to 90 per cent across the network.
According to the Apple Maps data, the quietest day for requests for driving directions was Sunday. March 29, when Ottawa received 18 millimetres of rain.
Other slow days for requests for driving directions on Apple Maps were Sunday, April 5 and Easter Sunday.
Ottawa Public Health and the National Capital Commission have asked Ottawa residents to get physical exercise while staying in their neighbourhood during the pandemic.
Google’s COVID-19 Community Mobility Report looks at the frequency of visits to retail & recreation, grocery & pharmacy, parks, transit stations, workplace, and residential areas in all provinces and across Canada.
In Ontario, visits to transit stations was down 69 per cent on April 17 compared to baseline, while visits to work was down 62 per cent compared to baseline.
In a statement on its website, Google says the Community Mobility Reports aim to provide insights into what has changed in response to policies aimed at combat COVID-19. Google says “no personally identifiable information, such as an individual’s location, contacts or movement, will be made available at any point.”
