Apple, Google mobility data shows Sydney residents’ staying at home more than Melburnians

Greater Sydney’s lockdown rules are more effective than Melbourne’s “ring of steel” at keeping people at home, mobility data from Google and Apple reveals.

Mobility data prepared for the NSW crisis cabinet shows Sydney’s lockdown is keeping residents at home more effectively than Melbourne’s draconian restrictions did at the height of their outbreak last year.

The mobility tracking, compiled by the NSW government, rebuts attacks levelled by Premier Dan Andrews who has offered unsolicited advice stating Sydney needs a “ring of steel” to stop the virus.

NSW Minister for Digital and Customer Service Victor Dominello says Sydneysiders are recording a bigger increase in time at home than Melburnians did at a similar stage of lockdown. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

The data, which maps time spent at home over the course of both Sydney’s current outbreak and Melbourne’s 2020 wave, shows that on average Sydneysiders are recording a bigger increase in time locked in their houses and more time at home.

“When you look at the objective data, Sydney is staying home more compared to Melbourne in the similar stages of their lockdown last year,” Customer Services Minister Victor Dominello said.

“There is no doubt on the data we’ve seen that the restrictions we’ve had in place have had a significant impact on mobility. No one could say this is a lockdown light, or lighter than Melbourne,” Mr Dominello said.

Empty roads on the northern side of The Sydney Harbour Bridge as Sydney residents comply with the COVID lockdown. Picture: Julian Andrews

Mr Andrews has on multiple occasions sought to offer advice to NSW over the state’s handling of the outbreak, saying measures like a “ring of steel” and a curfew had worked in Victoria and he “sees no reason why” NSW would not consider such approaches.

“All I’m doing is telling others what worked here and it’s through painful, tragic, bitter experience that we are able to advise what actually works,” Mr Andrews said on Tuesday.

“A ring of steel will work, it will, and that’s why I called for it.”

Mobility data shows there are less public transport direction requests have reduced more in Sydney than they did in Melbourne. Picture: John Grainger

NSW has stopped short of implementing stricter limitations on liberty seen in the 2020 Victorian lockdown, including a curfew or a 5km cap on travel from home.

NSW’s Data Analytic Centre prepared the analysis based on datasets from Apple and Google.

Importantly, the mobility shows it took until day eight of the lockdowns though for NSW residents to overtake Victorian residents in time spent at home, which confirms a slow start to our lockdown.

The data shows public transport directions requests via Apple have reduced in Sydney by more than in Melbourne under stage four restrictions.

Walking and driving directions requests across the two cities over the course of both lockdowns are comparable, with driving slightly higher in Sydney, but lower at the point of increased restrictions between day 29 and 32 of the lockdown.