NOT since 1955 have there been so few cars on Britain’s roads, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has noted.
In that year just over five million vehicles were registered as the country began to ease itself out of the shadow of World War Two. Last year some 36m cars, vans and lorries were registered.
Referring to car use over the weekend illustrated in a Downing St graph, Mr Shapps told Sky News: "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."
Overall, the use of transport has plunged since the lockdown started in March, falling by 60 per cent and in the case of rail and the London Tube by more than 95 per cent.
Meanwhile, Mr Shapps came under fire from Britain’s struggling travel industry, which accused him of “undermining confidence” in it after he revealed he had no plans to book a summer holiday.
Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme about consumers being unsure whether to book a trip, the Cabinet minister replied: "I won't be booking a summer holiday at this point, let's put it that way."
He added people would "want to see what the trajectory of this disease is in the next few weeks".
But Abta, which represents UK travel firms, issued a withering response to Mr Shapps’s remarks.
It said: "It was a thoughtless comment and not based on any facts about what we know today about the future of the pandemic, but it shows complete disregard for the UK travel industry, the hundreds of thousands of people it employs and the struggle it is facing in this current crisis.
"It would be better if the Government focused on taking the necessary steps to support the sector rather than undermining confidence in it."
Downing Street also suggested summer holidays should not be booked yet as there is no certainty of when travel can resume.
Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: "As of today, it is a fact that both the guidelines and the official Foreign Office advice do not allow for people going on holidays."
Abta has warned that many travel firms will not be able to survive unless the Government amends refund rules.
Under EU law, travel companies must refund customers within 14 days if their package holiday is cancelled.
But Abta says the deluge of claims means many firms will collapse if they are forced to pay out cash refunds.
It wants the Government to allow companies to offer credit notes as a short-term alternative.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all but essential international travel since March 17, while domestic holidays are not allowed due to the Government's lockdown orders issued six days later.
These measures have hit travel firms hard, with trips being cancelled and many people delaying making future bookings.
A number of companies have furloughed staff due to the sector grinding to a halt.
Mr Shapps said the Government "won't be able to save every single business in every single circumstance" but predicted that once the pandemic recedes, there will be "new types of economy in lots of different ways, including the travel world".
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