Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the number of cars on the roads has dropped down to levels seen in 1955.
Speaking on Sky News about the reported rise in car use since the weekend, Mr Shapps said: “What we’ve seen is actually what happens at the end of every weekend which is that car use gets very, very low over the weekend on a Monday or in this case on Tuesday it comes back up again.
“It’s about on levels where it was the week before just looking at that car section of the slide.”
He added: “As Transport Secretary in the 21st century I can now say that the level of car and road use is the equivalent to 1955 and I must be the first transport secretary in history who celebrates the idea that there are fewer cars on the road and there are fewer people using public transport than ever before.”
Asked about whether members of the public should be wearing masks, Mr Shapps said: “I think that we need to be completely guided by the evidence on this as the Mayor acknowledged in the letter he wrote to me.”
He added that “it looks like the advantages might be marginal and there can even be times when it’s disadvantageous if they’re not used properly”.
