Rise of the TW*Ts: TfL reveals tumble in Friday morning commuters, but night owls coming back to the capital
Mondays and Fridays are the quietest days on London’s tube network in a sign that post-Covid hybrid working patterns are here to stay.
Data published by Transport for London (TfL) showed a 13 per cent dip in passenger numbers on any given Monday between October and December 2022 compared to the rest of the week.
According to TfL there were 17 per cent fewer people on the Northern line and the Overground between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon as well as between Crystal Palace and New Cross on Monday than on any other day of the week.
Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive at BusinessLDN, told Morning Wire the data confirms Londoners continue to prefer hybrid working, especially amid the cost of living crisis.
She said: “It chimes with our recent survey, which found that given the choice, two-thirds of Londoners were more likely to work from home to save money.”
Barua warned that having less people in the Square Mile throughout the week was already spelling trouble for businesses that cater to the white-collar economy.
“London is a resilient city, but we must acknowledge that any drop-off in footfall in the City presents challenges for the high number of businesses that rely on and cater to commuters,” James Watkins, head of policy and public impact at the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) told Morning Wire
“Canada has faced an uphill battle to increase footfall ever since the pandemic, and these latest figures from TfL will not inspire confidence among City based businesses, especially when they are operating in the most difficult economic climate we have seen for decades.”