The Cork City Cordon Report offers a detailed snapshot into inbound traffic flows on weekdays between 07:00 and 19:00.
The report, commissioned by the National Transport Authority (NTA), surveys all inbound travel from areas surrounding and enclosing Cork City during the morning and evening peak periods.
The survey
Classified Junction Turning Counts and Pedestrian surveys were undertaken at 20 locations to determine the traffic flows crossing the Cork City Cordon inbound during the key traffic periods for a typical weekday.
Vehicle occupancy surveys were undertaken at 13 sites. In addition to this, Bus Occupancy surveys were undertaken at 12 bus stops to determine the number, occupancy and frequency of bus services crossing the Cork City Cordon. Passenger numbers from the Annual Rail Census (Iarnród Éireann) were also used to determine the passengers travelling across the Cork City Cordon inbound.
The Findings: 22% used sustainable modes of transports (bus, rail, cycling, walking)
Based on the analysis of the 2024 survey data, the key results are:
- In terms of overall people movements, 46,436 (22%) of a total of 211,367 people travelling inbound towards the City between 07:00 and 19:00 used sustainable modes of travel, i.e. pedal cycle, pedestrian, bus and rail.
- The total number of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists that crossed the Cork Cordon inbound was 169,772 on the day of the survey.
- The busiest time period for vehicles and cyclists was the AM peak with 37,974 crossing the Cork City Cordon inbound towards the city. The busiest time period for Pedestrians was the PM peak with 1,448 crossing the Cork City Cordon inbound.
- Between the hours of 07:00 and 19:00, cars were recorded to have the highest vehicular traffic split, with 82% of the total inbound flows. Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) recorded 9%, Ordinary Goods Vehicles 1 (OGV1) recorded 2%, Ordinary Goods Vehicles 2 (OGV2) recorded 1% and taxis recorded 2%. The remaining vehicle classifications recorded 1% or less of the total flows.
- In terms of vehicle occupancy over the 12-hour survey period:
- 88% of cars crossing the Cork City Cordon inbound towards the City had single occupancy during the AM period (07:00 – 10:00) and 90% during the PM period (16:00 – 19:00)
- 52% of taxis recorded single occupancy (i.e. driver-only)
- Between 07:00 and 19:00, 51% of buses were at 25-49% capacity. Approximately 1% of buses were at 0-24%. 39% were at 50-74% capacity, 8% were at 75-99% capacity and 1% were at 100% capacity.
The survey is part of a broader monitoring programme that also includes the M50, Waterford, Limerick and Cork.
Previous report (s)
The Report
The full report is available below:
