OTTAWA -- Ottawa residents looking to get some fresh air during the COVID-19 pandemic were asking Siri for new walking routes over the weekend as the temperatures warmed up.
Apple’s Mobility Trends Report shows a spike in requests for walking directions on the Apple Maps app over the past week.
The requests for directions on Friday and Saturday were the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic and the calls for physical distancing began in mid-March.
Ottawa Public Health has encouraged people to get outside for physical distancing walks, runs and bike rides during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
In Ottawa, the requests for walking directions on Apple Maps was 35 per cent below baseline on Friday, May 1. That’s the lowest percentage below baseline since the pandemic began.
As the temperature hit 20C on Saturday, May 2, the requests for walking directions on Apple Maps was 36 per cent below baseline.
On April 28, as the temperature warmed up to 15.4C, the requests for walking directions was 37 per cent below baseline.
The highest gap between baseline and requests for walking directions on Apple Maps was March 29, at 74 per cent below baseline.
Driving directions
Requests for driving directions on Apple Maps spiked to its highest level since mid-March on Friday.
Apple’s Mobility Trends Report shows driving directions requests were 37 per cent below baseline on May 1, the lowest level since March 16.
Requests for driving directions dropped to 47 per cent below baseline on Saturday.
Across Canada, requests for walking directions are down 30 per cent from baseline, while driving directions are down 32 per cent from baseline.
Requests for transit directions on Apple Maps is down 78 per cent across Canada.
