Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the French have been travelling relatively less on a daily basis, thanks to teleworking and online shopping in particular, a decrease of nearly 10% in mobility, according to a study published by the Cerema organization.
Compiling mobility surveys conducted since 2021 in ten urban areas, including Caen, Bordeaux, and Saint-Étienne—but not the Paris metropolitan area—the Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility, and Planning (Cerema) highlights emerging trends. This summary, however, does not include data from rural areas located far from cities.
This government body concludes that there has been "a decrease of nearly 10% in daily mobility per resident, in number and in kilometers, within urban areas since the beginning of the 2010s".
This decrease, Cerema continues, is "new and observed regardless of the type of territory: from the city center of dense urban areas to the rural territories of urban areas".
It is working-age individuals, between 25 and 65 years old, who are responsible: "91% of them do not leave their homes on a weekday, compared to 71% ten years ago," explains Cerema. Furthermore, the number of their trips has fallen, from 4.7 to 4.3 per day, a decrease of nearly 10%.
On the other hand, those aged 75 and over are more active: "30% do not leave their homes on a weekday compared to 35% ten years ago, and those who do leave their homes still make an average of 3.4 trips per day."
Is teleworking to blame? Not only, says Cerema, which highlights a "measured effect on daily mobility" of this new post-pandemic practice.
"Not everyone works remotely," the body points out, specifying that in the territories studied, "only 61% of the workforce work remotely one day a week, a proportion that reaches 131% among managers."
Even though this decrease in mobility is "primarily driven" by a drop of approximately 151 per person in daily commutes to work, other factors are also at play. The French are staying home more, taking advantage of online shopping and home deliveries, while travel for health and support services has decreased.
On the other hand, walking and cycling are on the rise for journeys of less than 10 km (44%, +9 points) in major urban centers. Conversely, long daily commutes are still made by car, with over 80%.
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