In a city emerging from the long shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, Melbourne’s central business district (CBD) is witnessing a significant decline in foot traffic. Almost 10,000 fewer people traverse some of the city’s busiest areas daily, painting a picture of a metropolis that has yet to fully recover from the disruptions of COVID-19.
Once bustling office precincts now resemble concrete wastelands, particularly on certain days of the week, as businesses plaster advertisements over walls and phone screens in a desperate bid for attention. According to an analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data, the city has become an “80 per cent city,” with only four out of every five footsteps returning to the CBD pavements.
Foot Traffic: A City Transformed
The data reveals a stark reality: foot traffic in key areas of Melbourne’s CBD plummeted during lockdown and has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. At Southern Cross Station, weekday foot traffic is just 65 per cent of what it was before COVID-19. Flinders Street Station fares slightly better at 77 per cent, while Bourke Street sees just over half of its previous footfall. However, a slight rebound occurred following the opening of Mecca’s flagship store last winter.
This transformation is evident in a decade of foot traffic data, exposing a city permanently altered by the pandemic. Southern Cross Station, a key entry point to the city, has seen a 35 per cent decline in foot traffic since 2018-19, with about 17,700 people passing through its Collins Street entrance on an average weekday in 2024-25.
Impact on Businesses and Working Patterns
Working from home has emerged as the primary factor behind Melbourne’s dwindling pedestrian numbers. According to KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley, the decline at Southern Cross Station aligns closely with the shift to a three-day office workweek. This change has had profound effects on businesses that once thrived on a consistent flow of office workers.
Cecconi’s Flinders Lane, an upscale Italian restaurant catering to corporate clients for two decades, has had to adapt by scrapping its first Friday dinner sitting due to a lack of post-work patrons. Operations manager Nicoletta Sylvester notes that many company executives report having more desks than staff in the city, particularly on Mondays and Fridays.
“You know, last Friday I remember looking [around] – it would have been four o’clock in the afternoon, and there was hardly any foot traffic,” Sylvester says. “I was like: ‘Where is everyone?'”
The Changing Face of Melbourne’s CBD
The Allan government is set to make working from home a legal right by 2026, posing additional challenges for hospitality venues competing with suburban restaurants and cafes that emerged during the pandemic. Cecconi’s, for instance, opened a new venture in Toorak in 2023.
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece argues that the city has “found a new rhythm,” with less foot traffic in some areas but increased spending in others. “When people are in the city, they are making the most of it, spending more on dining and weekend retail compared to pre-pandemic levels,” he says.
However, businesses can no longer rely solely on their CBD location, quality products, and market knowledge for success. Instead, they must be strategic, leveraging leasing incentives offered by landlords amid high vacancy rates.
Office and Retail Vacancies: A Perfect Storm
Melbourne’s office vacancy rate remains the highest among Australian capital cities, a situation exacerbated by the pandemic. According to Cameron Douglas-Perrine, research manager at commercial real estate agency CBRE, the vacancy rate has surged to about 19 per cent, up from 3 per cent in 2019.
This trend coincided with corporations, including major banks, securing office space in a tight market only to face low post-pandemic office attendance. Douglas-Perrine notes that the correlation between foot traffic and office vacancy is a significant indicator of workplace preferences.
“Occupiers are very conscious of how their leasing decisions will impact office attendance, and they don’t want to lease a space if no one is going to use it,” Douglas-Perrine says.
Future Prospects and Adaptation
The Docklands area, notorious for its high office vacancy rates, stands at about 21 per cent as of 2025. In contrast, the city’s “Paris end” has recovered well, with a vacancy rate of around 12 per cent. The Finance Sector Union reports that over half of the 6,600 job losses in Melbourne’s big four banks since February 2020 were based in Docklands.
Opera-singing busker Lucy Diggerson, who performs primarily in the St Kilda Road arts precinct, suggests that more cultural attractions could help revitalize areas like Docklands. Meanwhile, Melbourne’s retail vacancy rate has climbed to about 7 per cent, compared to an average of 3 per cent before the pandemic.
Despite these challenges, some areas, like the Flinders Street Station underpass, have seen muted impacts due to local tourism and attractions. However, foot traffic there has still dropped by 23 per cent since before COVID-19.
Oliver Gould, executive chef of the San Telmo Group, which owns several restaurants including Asado near Flinders Street Station, believes that Melbourne will never return to being a “five-day-a-week city.” While his group has recovered well, he acknowledges that small, independent businesses may continue to struggle.
“That lunch trade in the city is going to struggle for the next few years, and a lot of venues need that lunch trade to survive,” Gould says. “I think it’s accepting it. I don’t think there’s anything that anyone can do to change [it].”
As Melbourne navigates its post-pandemic future, the city must adapt to new patterns of work and leisure, finding ways to entice people back to its vibrant heart.
