Pedestrian activity in Melbourne, Australia in response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably influenced the travel behaviours of the entire global population. One of the most significantly impacted areas of Australia in terms of mobility is the Melbourne CBD. Melbourne has been subject to several government-imposed lockdowns and is critical to Australia’s economy, yet there is no existing research which focuses on how pedestrian activity within the city has changed in response to COVID-19. The aim of this paper is to quantify the magnitude of the change in pedestrian activity across the Melbourne CBD, and to determine whether these volumes are on course to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. The paper draws on data from the City of Melbourne’s Pedestrian Counting System from January 2019 to April 2021. We found that during the worst parts of lockdown, Melbourne recorded pedestrian volumes that were approximately 90% lower than the corresponding month in 2019. During a typical weekday in 2020, pedestrian volumes during morning, lunchtime and evening peaks were particularly impacted. As of April 2021, the City of Melbourne was still recording pedestrian volumes that were well below 2019 levels. Weekday pedestrian volumes continue to lag behind weekend ones, confirming that weekday activity should be of primary concern for key policy makers. These insights are likely to be valuable to the City of Melbourne, as well as other major global CBDs, which are all likely to be facing similar decreases in activity due to the pandemic. It is hoped that these findings will enable key policy makers in Australia and around the world to make informed decisions about how best to position their cities for a swift recovery.