Car and pedestrian mobility drops significantly in Turkey

ISTANBUL

The number of people who drive cars and pedestrians on the streets in Turkey has declined significantly amid the coronavirus pandemic, Apple’s new mobility trends reports have shown. 

The data compiled and made publicly available by Apple show the change in volume of people driving, walking or taking public transit in their communities across the globe.

Turkey-specific statistics suggest that the volume of people driving declined by 58 percent between Jan. 13 and April 14 while the volume of people walking show a 66 percent drop in the same period.

Google’s own mobility tracker also produced similar results for Turkey.

Visits and time spent in retail and recreational facilities, such as restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, theme parks, museums, libraries and movie theaters, declined as much as 92 percent from Feb. 29 to April 11, according to Google’s community mobility report.

Visits to grocery markets, food warehouses and pharmacies plunged 83 percent over the same period while the corresponding figure for parks was an 81 percent decline.

Mobility trends for public transport hubs such as metro, bus and train stations pointed to a sharp 90 percent decline from Feb. 29 to April 11, suggesting that people are increasingly avoiding public transport.

The Turkish government has been repeatedly calling on people to stay at home and heed social distancing rules.

It also has introduced a number of measures to curb the spread of the virus, including restrictions on intercity travel, weekend lockdowns in larger cities, the closure of non-essential stores and schools.