Flexi work pushes back morning rush hour

THE morning rush hour has been pushed back as workers come into the office later than before the pandemic, figures from Transport for London show.

Peak travel times have shifted as workers take advantage of flexible arrangements to go to the gym, do the school run or simply to have a lie-in.

An analysis of travel data by Transport for London shows more journeys are being taken later in the morning. Before the pandemic, the busiest period was between 7am to 8am but that has changed to 8am to 9am.

City workers said colleagues at home were working longer hours than those doing the same jobs in the office. It echoes research by the Bank of England which found remote workers were probably devoting the 59 minutes, on average, that they saved on commuting each day to work instead of on leisure.

Commuters have been returning to the office even though the Government has not yet lifted the work from home order it imposed to help combat a surge in coronavirus cases. However, TFL said passenger numbers on the Tube during weekdays were still between 45 and 48 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.