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New data from Uber suggests that Australians are maintaining some of the habits they’ve picked up since the pandemic began, roughly a year ago.

AAP has the story:

People are still avoiding public transport and opting for ride-share vehicles as Australia begins to recover from the pandemic, new data suggests.

One year on from the country’s first locally-acquired case, habits Australians made during the pandemic have stuck, Uber Australia’s latest Movement Index shows.

Across all states and territories the number of people ordering lunch through the app was up by more than a quarter compared to the previous year.

There was also a more than 400% increase in pick-up orders from restaurants and cafes.

Similarly, the data released on Friday shows bookings around work and social commute times were almost at or above pre-pandemic levels, despite fewer people being out and about.

“Bookings across the social and workday commute have recovered to around 104% and 94% respectively year on year to January 2021, when taking the average across Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Taiwan and Hong Kong,” the Uber Australia and New Zealand general manager, Dom Taylor, said.

Domestic travel is also on the mend despite border closures and limited flights, the report suggests, with popular vacation spots seeing traffic similar to pre-Covid levels.

Trips to and from Hobart airport grew more than tenfold in the last three months of the year, and movement around Darwin airport increased compared to the last year.

“It’s impressive to see how much can shift in six months, as restrictions across the country have largely eased,” Taylor said.

“One year on and we are witnessing the nation reconnect in myriad ways.”