Tube passengers lost nearly 400,000 hours last year thanks to overcrowding delays
Tube delays caused by overcrowding have surged in the past five years, causing passengers to waste 390,786 hours or nearly 45 years in the past 12 months.
Some timely news considering we're gearing up for a huge Tube strike next week set to cause more disruption…
Read more: Guess how many times the Central line ran enough trains last month…
The figures were obtained by Liberal Democrat London Assembly member – and chair of the LA Transport Committee – Caroline Pidgeon, revealing the amount of time passengers spent wading their way through crowds at stations and on platforms. And that includes those snaking queues at the barriers too.
Pidgeon called for half-price tickets for those willing – and able – to travel outside the morning peak period.
The worst Tube line? The Jubilee, recording 147,451 hours lost due to overcrowding last year, more than double the waiting time of other lines, not helped by persistent overcrowding at the likes of Canada Water.
Then it's the Central, Northern and Bakerloo with 60,695 hours, 45,635 hours and 44,575 hours lost due to disruptions of two minutes or more. The Waterloo & City by comparison had zero hours lost.
Jubilee Line passengers might be feeling rather aggrieved…
Read more: All the maps you'll need to avoid travel trouble in the Tube strike
More than four million people use the London Underground every day and that number is rising. It has tripled just between 2012 and 2016.
“These figures powerfully demonstrate that improvements to the Tube are in many places not even keeping up with the rising demand for travel created by London’s booming population and record number of tourists," said Pidgeon.
"There is a vital need to maintain investment in improving the Tube, however we also need to go further and consider imaginative policies to manage demand on the Tube. A good start would be to encourage more people to start their journeys earlier in the morning by offering half price Tube travel for any journey that starts before 7.30 am.
She also called for plans to accelerate the development of a pedestrian and cycle bridge linking Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf.
Read more: Mapped: All the stations that will be shut for next week's Tube strike
Steve Griffiths, chief operating officer for London Underground, said: "Crowding is more often a consequence rather than a cause of delays. London’s success means the city’s population is growing and we have consistently argued that this means sustained investment needs to be put into modernising and expanding the transport network."
“That is why we have one of the biggest investment programmes in the world. The TfL-run Elizabeth line, which will open next year, will serve more than half a million customers a day, while our signal modernisation, new more frequent trains, and rebuilding of stations like Victoria and Bank are critical. But we also now need to move forward plans to start building Crossrail 2 as soon as possible to help relieve Waterloo and enable London to meet growing demand.”
It comes after recent figures revealed the Central and Piccadilly lines didn't have enough trains running for peak times once in December.