A packed train at Canary Wharf
(Picture: PA)The boss of one of the biggest flexible office providers in the world says commuters shouldn’t be “penalised” with high fares after Transport for London pushed through big ticket hikes at the start of this month.
IWG, the £2.7 billion operator of brands including Regus and Spaces, has seen a big jump in visits to central London locations in recent weeks, with visits to spots like Mayfair, Monument and Paddington up as much as 80% in February.
But CEO Mark Dixon said London’s leaders couldn’t afford to take recovery for granted and should make sure people can still afford to commute as the cost of living crisis bites.
Last month Transport for London put up prices on the Tube, bus and tram network by 4.8%, contributing to decade-high levels of inflation and squeezing household budgets.
Dixon called the capital’s transport system “very expensive” and argued that it “penalise[s] people for coming in” early.
He said: “London needs to reinvent itself. What we can see very clearly around the world is cities that have really good transport systems — that work, that are reasonably priced — fared very well through Covid.
“The transport system has to work and it has to be reasonably priced… People are fed up with commuting and unreliable trains, expensive transport.”
Despite rising transport prices, customers continue to come in to IWG’s offices “to meet with other people and to collaborate,” Dixon said. “People are coming back in and that’s very clear. They’re coming back in for a reason.”
The IWG boss said rising prices across the economy were providing a fair wind to his business as cost-cutting drives more entrepreneurs and bosses to chose budget-friendly office options like IWG.
Rising energy bills affect IWG too but Dixon said historic investment in environmentally friendly low-energy options such as energy-saving light bulbs were helping to keep costs down.
IWG operates around 3500 buildings across 120 countries around the world. Visits across its UK network rose by 20% last month.
