OTTAWA -- Walking and driving habits returned to normal in Ottawa in June as the COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed and more businesses reopened across the national capital region during the pandemic.
Apple's Mobility Trends Report shows requests for driving and walking directions in Ottawa through the Apple Maps app returned to baseline levels in early June, and spiked as the summer vacation season began last weekend.
Apple's Mobility Trends Report looks at requests for directions using Apple Maps on devices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data is compared to a baseline volume of requests set on January 13.
According to the data, requests for driving directions in Ottawa hit the 100 baseline on June 4 for the first time since March 7, four days before the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa. Requests for walking directions hit the 100 baseline on June 4 for the first time since March 11.
The Apple Mobility Trends Report, which is updated daily, shows that as the summer vacation season began last weekend, more people were on the move in Ottawa.
Requests for driving directions spiked to 27 per cent above the baseline on Friday, June 26. Requests for driving directions were 27 per cent above the baseline again on Tuesday, June 30, ahead of the Canada Day holiday.
Requests for walking directions on Apple Maps spiked 16 per cent above baseline on June 26, and 13 per cent above baseline on June 30.
Transit direction requests on Apple Maps increased the final week of June and first couple of days in July, but still remains more than 60 per cent below the baseline level.
Ottawa and eastern Ontario moved into the Ontario Government's Stage 2 of economic reopening on June 12, allowing bar and restaurant patios, salons, barber shops and malls to reopen.
On June 12, requests for driving directions in Ottawa were 17 per cent above baseline on Apple Maps, while requests for walking directions were four per cent above baseline.
