Weekday Tube travel has finally returned to the level last seen immediately before Boris Johnson told the country to work from home.
The number of journeys on the London Underground reached 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels on Monday – more than 2.3m trips.
The 60 per cent figure was last seen on a Monday on March 16, 2020 when the Prime Minister called for a halt to all “unnecessary travel” and admitted the need for “drastic action” as Covid rates started to soar.
Pre-pandemic, a typical Monday would have 3.93m Tube journeys. Ridership increased through the week to about 4.2m journeys on Thursday and Friday.
The latest figures from the Department for Transport highlight how Monday remains the day of the week when the return to work is weakest.
By comparison, weekend journeys are much closer to “normal” – and hit 81 per cent of pre-pandemic levels on Saturday and 80 per cent on Sunday.
Transport for London commissioner Andy Byford told the London Assembly on Monday the return of passengers to the public transport network was “highly encouraging”.
This included bus ridership at 87 per cent of normal on Saturday, he said. This works out at 4.09m bus journeys on the day.
Stations such as Barbican, North Greenwich, Tower Hill, Westminster and Waterloo saw broadly similar levels of demand at the weekend, compared to before the pandemic.
“Weekend ridership is very strong,” Mr Byford said. “It’s coming back.” He attributed this to the better weather and the Government’s “Plan B” restrictions having been lifted.
But Mr Byford said it was “not yet clear” when weekday numbers on the Tube would reach 90 per cent or above – amid concerns that the pandemic has resulted in a long-term change to working habits and the end of the five-day commute.
“Monday and Friday are the quietest days,” he said. “There are a lot of people doing [just] Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the office.”
People who only come into work between Tuesday and Thursday have become knowns as “TWaTs”.
TfL also reported “steady growth” outside of Zone 1 - with stations such as Canada Water, Hanger Lane, Kew Gardens and Putney Bridge seeing passenger numbers on Saturday broadly similar to those seen before the pandemic.
Julie Dixon, interim customer and revenue director at TfL, said: “Ridership on the Tube continues to grow and last week levels reached around two-thirds of those last seen before the pandemic during the weekdays.
“At weekends though, the Tube is now regularly hitting 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, and rising to almost 85 per cent at certain times – as people return to discover the vibrant sights and sounds of the capital this spring.”
But she added: “There still remains a significant reduction in TfL’s fares revenues compared to before the pandemic.”
