London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 26, 2025

Returning London commuters put the rush back into rush hour

Returning London commuters put the rush back into rush hour

Morning trips on the tube were up 17% on last week, and buses saw 39% more passengers
The first signs of a commuter revival in the capital appeared on Monday as London Underground recorded its busiest morning since the start of the pandemic – although schools may have played a bigger role than offices in increasing journeys.

Rush-hour trips on the tube were up 17% from last Tuesday, to just under a million – their highest since March 2020. Buses also saw 39% more passengers, according to Transport for London figures for the period to 10am on Friday.

The rise was particularly pronounced between 8am and 9am, with 22% more tube journeys and 71% more bus trips. Almost 2m contactless “tap-ins” were recorded across the capital’s two main transport modes by 10am.

Schoolchildren and parents travelling appears to have had the biggest impact, with bus journeys already rising rapidly by Friday last week, after most schools returned on Wednesday or Thursday.

However, morning tube numbers rose by 110,000, about 12.5%, from Friday to Monday, suggesting that some commuters have returned in the capital.

According to Network Rail, peak morning footfall at Cannon Street in the heart of London’s financial district for today was 8,909 passengers compared with 6,217 a fortnight ago.

A spokesperson for Canary Wharf Group, where east London’s financial district is located, said it was now busier than at any time since March 2020.

“The number of people back at Canary Wharf varies from our tenants. Some businesses have asked for everybody to return and some are asking people to return in phases. In the meantime, our shops, bars and restaurants are doing really well,” the spokesperson said.

Catherine McGuinness, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, the governing body for the capital’s square mile, said the area is “buzzing again, as the numbers on our streets grow and offices start to come back to life”.

She added: “We urge people to come back to the office and see colleagues in real life – it’s much more fun than on a screen.”

Cafes and restaurants catering for commuters said they were seeing signs of revival in city centres. Spencer Craig, the boss of the Pure cafe chain, which has 20 outlets in London, said sales in its shops were 30% up on Monday compared with a fortnight ago.

“It’s definitely busier today, although from a fairly low base. We wouldn’t expect to see the full impact for the next few days as Mondays look like they are now going to be quiet for ever, but we think that over the next couple of days it will carry on building.”

Pizza Express said trading for its restaurant group was now ahead of 2019 levels. A spokesperson said: “Across the UK the gradual return to office working is translating into slightly increased trade at our city centre sites. We are optimistic that this trend will increase further.”

Steve Grocutt at The Cornish Bakery said: “Our city centre bakeries have been slower to return to full sales … However, those locations have absolutely returned to their form … We’re in significant growth.”

Another sign of recovery in the capital came as British Airways, along with German carrier Lufthansa, restarted flights from London City airport, which mainly serves business travellers.

On the roads, traffic data from TomTom showed that morning rush-hour congestion in London peaked at 61%, almost at 2019 levels, but unchanged from last week.

Data from the West Midlands showed road traffic up from last week in the morning rush hour and approaching 2019 levels of congestion, although Manchester remained well below pre-pandemic levels.

A source from a leading rail operator said there was “no noticeable increase that we have heard about so far”. He said the industry’s “expectation is that it will be next week before we see any commuter-type increases”, despite a marketing campaign to welcome back passengers.

Leisure and weekend travel has returned faster than weekdays compared with pre-pandemic times, according to provisional Department for Transport data up to 30 August.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
×