Traffic jams surge as schools reopen

Traffic levels soared in cities across England as schools and colleges reopened, indicating that many children are avoiding public transport.

The level of congestion on London’s roads at 8am on Monday was 53%, compared with 34% at the same time last week, according to location technology firm TomTom

Other cities suffering an increase in traffic jams include Birmingham (from 29% to 33%), Leicester (from 26% to 41%), Liverpool (from 35% to 39%) and Manchester (from 25% to 45%).

Congestion levels represent the proportion of additional time required for journeys compared with free-flow conditions.

The figures also indicate that Monday’s hold-ups were worse than on September 2 last year, which was the first day back at school for many pupils after the first national coronavirus lockdown.

At 8am on that day, congestion was just 25% in Birmingham, 39% in Leicester, 27% in Liverpool, 41% in London and 24% in Manchester.

TomTom’s head of traffic innovation and policy Stephanie Leonard told the PA news agency its data shows “a significant increase in traffic congestion”.

She added: “This could indicate that while the country is taking its first steps back to normality, the car continues to be the preferred choice of transport for many parents during the pandemic.”

The AA urged motorists to allow extra time for their journeys, and to carry out maintenance checks on their cars if they have been rarely used in recent weeks.

Edmund King, the organisation’s president, said: “The ‘rush hour’ has started earlier in the day with the return of school. Many parents are probably cranking up their car as they don’t want their schoolchildren risking public transport.”

Latest Department for Transport figures show car use has returned to 66% of what it was before the virus crisis, whereas passenger numbers for buses outside London and the railway are at 31% and 17% respectively.

Despite demand being well below normal, many train operators ramped up services on Monday in response to schools and colleges reopening.

Firms which raised their capacity through extra and longer trains include Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Southeastern, West Midlands Trains and TransPennine Express.

Extra staff were deployed at key stations to provide guidance to passengers, and cleaning regimes were enhanced to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Rail timetables were reduced when the third national lockdown was introduced in January.