Commuters in Victoria station
(Picture: Jeremy Selwyn)London’s “great return” continues as increasing numbers of commuters make the journey into their offices in the West End, the City and Docklands.
Latest figures from Network Rail show that the major London stations were 10 per cent busier on Tuesday than a week previously and five per cent more crowded than on Monday.
Meanwhile TfL said 2.08 million Tube journeys were made on Tuesday — around 51 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and up seven per cent week-on-week. On buses 4.35 million journeys were made, 71 per cent of “normal”.
Footfall on the streets of central London is also slowly rising after the work from home guidance was lifted by Boris Johnson from last Friday.
The number of people on pavements was up 2.1 per cent week-on-week yesterday according to data from analysts Springboard. However, that was slower than the 8.4 per cent weekly bounce seen in regional cities.
London offices were still only 13 per cent full on Monday, according to figures from workplace sensor company Freespace, but this was up from a low of just five per cent in early January.
Freespace chief Raj Krishnamurthy said: “Things are moving in a positive direction. London’s levels are increasing significantly since the work from home directive was lifted, which is great news for the hospitality businesses that rely on this footfall.”
Central London restaurant bosses said bookings were beginning to pick up after the Christmas party season was wiped out by the Plan B measures rushed in to counter the spread of the Omicron variant.
Ollie Dabbous, executive chef at Hide on Piccadilly, said: “There has been a bounce back but not quite with the same vigour as when we could open indoors again in April last year nor when everyone came back from the summer holidays.
“Hopefully the removal of PCR tests for vaccinated travellers will lead to increased tourism... once again, which will in turn mean more bums on seats for restaurants.”
Chris Yates, managing director of chef Angela Hartnett’s Cafe Murano, which has outlets in St James, Covent Garden and Bermondsey, said: “We’re still well below 2019 levels but the gap is narrowing, and we are seeing encouraging signs for February.”
