London Tube sees busiest rush hour in 18 months as thousands return to office

6 September 2021, 20:07 | Updated: 6 September 2021, 20:46

The Tube network saw its busiest rush hour in 18 months as commuters began returning to the office.

Rush hour on Monday morning peaked at 332,000 "taps" in on the Tube between 8am and 9am, the highest since March 2020, according to Transport for London (TfL) data.

The latest figures came amid the end of the summer holiday period and the return of schools.

Between 7am and 8am, the network saw around 277,000 taps in - an increase of almost a quarter on the previous Tuesday.

The number of people taking the bus also increased in the morning, reaching 321,000 taps between 8am and 9am - up 71 per cent on the previous week.

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Lord Moylan on London's Tube seeing busiest morning in 18 months

Compared to pre-pandemic figures for September 2019, travel was up 45 per cent on the Tube and 64 per cent on the buses up to 10am.

In response to the findings, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "I am delighted that Tube ridership continues to increase as more people return to the office.

"Our city - and our country - depends on London's economic recovery."

As well as public transport, the capital's roads also saw an increase in travellers.

Live data from location technology firm TomTom suggested congestion levels reached 61 per cent at 8am on Monday - an over 10 per cent jump in levels from 2020, which saw 49 per cent in congestion levels.

It was just below the 63 per cent average recorded on the same day in 2019.