New figures from Transport for London (TfL) show the busiest August Bank Holiday for bus journeys and tube journeys since the pandemic.
(c) TfL
Bus travel this August Bank Holiday saw a nearly 10 percent increase on the equivalent weekend a year ago, with journeys on the London Underground seeing a near six percent increase.
| Year | Bus journeys | Tube journeys |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 11,167,000 | 7,224,000 |
| 2020 | 7,134,000 | 3,016,000 |
| 2021 | 8,589,000 | 4,996,000 |
| 2022 | 9,789,000 | 6,630,000 |
| 2023 | 10,774,000 | 7,022,000 |
The weekend rounded off a busy summer on the network that saw stations in central London hit pre-pandemic levels at weekends, if not exceed them, by early August.
While leisure travel is pretty much back to where it was before the pandemic, commuter traffic is still sharply down, and the loss of peak-hours travel revenue is still a large hole in TfL’s finances.
Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said: “London has been roaring back this summer, with Londoners and tourists from around the world using TfL’s network to explore our capital’s cultural gems. There is much more to enjoy this autumn as London plays host to a wide range of events, including London Fashion Week and Open House Festival. I hope that many more Londoners and visitors will use public transport to discover our city, as we continue to build a more prosperous London for everyone.”
I presume “Tube journeys” is down as people will have switched from the Central Line to the Liz unless they really like the heat.
So if “Tube journeys” doesn’t include “it’s a new mode of transit” Liz Line, is the data there for it?
Ta
Weekdays still much lower, some weekdays only have tube usage at 72% of 2019 numbers.
Remember weekends is all day off peak pricing, which dose not generate the same level of income as a weekday.
I went to visit Bishopsgate on Monday and there were no cars on the road except taxis and Ubers. This is so sad. Almost all restaurant and takeaways close at 5pm. London was supposed to be the money earning hub. Now it’s a ghost town. Is this what we had planned London to be? Such a shame.
The country is recovering from Covid… it’s not recovering from Brexit.
“there were no cars on the road except taxis and Ubers”
If tube transport has recovered and private car journeys have not, that seems like a very positive development to me. It means that buses and those who can only reach their destination by road are more likely to arrive on time. That’s surely far far better than the gridlocked roads we had before.
“Almost all restaurant and takeaways close at 5pm”
Has Bishopsgate ever been a popular evening venue? You would do better to judge based on Leicester Square or the South Bank, which judging by the number of pedestrians are both as popular as ever.