Elche records more than 11.1 million vehicle movements during summer

Elche recorded more than 11.1 million vehicle movements during the summer, providing the city with its clearest picture yet of how traffic patterns change during the busiest months of the year.

Data collected through the Vive Elche monitoring system recorded 11,130,291 vehicle movements between June and August, equivalent to an average of more than 121,000 each day.

July was the busiest month for traffic

July recorded the highest number of vehicle movements during the three-month period, with 3.87 million detected across the city.

August followed with 3.76 million movements, while cars accounted for the overwhelming majority of vehicles recorded throughout the summer.

A total of 9.2 million car movements were detected between June and August, representing more than eight out of every 10 vehicles monitored by the system.

Most vehicles, 89 per cent, were registered in Alicante Province, showing that local and provincial traffic continued to account for the majority of journeys.

Among vehicles registered outside the province, Madrid was the most common origin, accounting for almost 700,000 movements. Murcia and Valencia followed.

Elche fiestas brought a surge in vehicle movements

Traffic increased considerably during Elche’s August fiestas, when the monitoring system recorded more than 1.15 million vehicle movements across eight full days of celebrations.

August 7, the day of the opening speech, proved to be the busiest day of the period, with 161,606 movements recorded.

The data provides an indication of the additional traffic generated as residents and visitors travelled into and around Elche during one of the biggest periods in the city’s annual calendar.

The monitoring system also detected vehicles from almost 50 countries during July and August. France was the most common foreign origin, followed by Germany and Poland.

Vive Elche cameras do not issue traffic fines

Vive Elche uses a combination of technology to monitor and analyse how vehicles move around the city.

The system includes number plate cameras, video analysis cameras, radars, Bluetooth antennas and noise sensors, allowing the Town Hall to gather information about traffic patterns and activity across Elche.

The council has stressed that the equipment is being used for information and analysis rather than enforcement.

Despite the use of number plate cameras and radars, the Vive Elche equipment does not issue traffic fines.