The City of London is bouncing back with higher-than-expected numbers of workers returning to the office in recent months, according to an analysis of Transport for London data.
The number of people tapping out of tube exits from the 15 City stations, including Bank, Farringdon, Holborn and Mansion House is at its highest point since the start of Covid.
There has been a steady rise in exits since the storms, strikes and Easter, which reached 69% of pre pandemic levels on the eve of the Jubilee and strike.
Paul Swinney, director of Policy and Research at think tank Centre for Cities, analysed the data.
Canary Wharf has seen one of the largest bounce backs, peaking at “around 77% a few weeks back, but has fallen back to 72% in the most recent data,” he wrote.
The data on the other stations was more difficult to interpret due to the Bank branch of the Northern Line reopening and train enthusiasts flocking to Crossrail (Elizabeth Line) when it opened, Swinney noted.
He acknowledged there was no data on how many days a week workers were returning but the TfL insight suggested an average of 3.5 days, with the assumption that all travellers were workers, he said.
“Quietly there has been a growing return to the office in recent months, which goes against a great deal of commentary in the last two years,” he wrote.
“Let’s see what happens next.”
