Tube usage bounces back to October levels as Londoners dash for shops
Tube and bus usage jumped back to pre-second lockdown levels last week as Londoners rushed back to shops, pubs, and restaurants after a month of restrictions.
On 4 December, there were 1.56m journeys made on the London Underground, and 3.6m trips made by bus, data from TfL shows.
That’s roughly a third higher than the total number of journeys made via each mode of transport throughout November, when the restrictions were in place.
Despite the rapid bounceback, Tube usage remains at roughly just over a third of pre-pandemic levels. Back in February, there were roughly 4m Underground journeys made each day.
For buses, figures are closer to two-thirds of the levels recorded before the pandemic struck in the spring.
The biggest surge in transport usage was recorded in the capital’s shopping districts, which saw the single highest tap in-and-outs of stations on any day apart from the Friday before lockdown.
Last Saturday there were 443,000 entrances and exits from stations around London’s West End, with shoppers dashing to pick up Christmas gifts and indulge in some retail therapy.
Oxford Circus station alone saw 128,000 tap in-and-outs, the single largest number since March.
The increase was less pronounced in the Square Mile, where there were just over 200,000 exits and entrances on 4 December.
That’s roughly in line with numbers throughout the autumn months, and a considerable jump from last month, when there were just 130,000 such taps a day in London’s financial district.
With the government still advising people to work from home if they can, the City’s governing body has called for a plan to get people back to their offices.
The City Corporation has warned that without such a plan, it would be impossible to get the economy working in its entirety.
Policy chair Catherine McGuinness said: “This is vital to protect livelihoods. We also need a thriving economy to help pay for the vast amount of support being provided at this time.”