As the post-pandemic world of travel reopens, the opportunity to return to an office environment across the UK has grown significantly. But in an era of inflation and soaring costs, the amount spent on the daily commute is becoming a concern for both employees and businesses alike.
So much so, that Sadiq Khan wants to experiment with incentivised commuter travel at the end of the working week and has announced the freezing of TfL fares for another year from March to “ease the cost-of-living for millions of Londoners”.
Considering these findings, Good Travel Management has delved into the cost dynamics of travelling to London and other major UK cities, to work out how much it really costs employees to commute to London each day.
Those returning to London offices are paying a lot to be there, the report finds. Workers who drive to London spend on average £105.82 per day, including a daily average of:
- £3.56 on coffee
- £10.18 on lunch
- £4.08 on petrol
- £88 on parking
However, those who commute with a train season ticket could significantly reduce their daily travel costs to around an average of £32.49 per day, which is, in part, down to not having to pay for a full day’s parking.
This means full-time office workers who drive to work are spending roughly £2116.40 every month to report to the workplace and those who commute by train (with 5 travel days a week) are spending roughly £354.08, with both figures excluding potential childcare costs.
London workers with children also add an average of £79.25 per day on top of this for childcare. This would increase a driver’s daily commute to £185.07 and a train-goers daily commute to an average of £111.74.
In comparison to other cities in the study, commuting to London was the most expensive of all the journeys studied by car. This is mainly due to the high cost of parking your car for a full day in the city. Even the second most expensive area for parking – Brighton & Hove- is only £38.56 a day, significantly cheaper than London’s first place cost of £88.
CITIES WITH THE MOST EXPENSIVE COMMUTES BY CAR
|
RANK |
CITY |
COST OF DAILY COMMUTE* |
|
1 |
LONDON |
£105.82 |
|
2 |
BRISTOL |
£51.64 |
|
3 |
EDINBURGH |
£51.22 |
|
4 |
BRIGHTON & HOVE |
£50.98 |
|
5 |
SHEFFIELD |
£44.80 |
*Includes daily coffee, lunch, daily petrol and parking costs
Interestingly, when it comes to commuting to London by public transport, it only ranks in tenth position out of the 20 cities listed in the study. The city with the most expensive commuter cost, using public transportation is Manchester, where it costs employees an average of £61.08 a day (including the additional costs of lunch and coffee).
CITIES WITH THE MOST EXPENSIVE COMMUTES BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT
|
RANK |
CITY |
COST OF DAILY COMMUTE* |
|
1 |
MANCHESTER |
£61.08 |
|
2 |
GLASGOW |
£55.06 |
|
3 |
CARDIFF |
£46.06 |
|
4 |
BRISTOL |
£40.73 |
|
5 |
LEEDS |
£39.14 |
|
6 |
LEICESTER |
£36.90 |
|
7 |
EDINBURGH |
£34.48 |
|
8 |
SHEFFIELD |
£34.10 |
|
9 |
COVENTRY |
£32.54 |
|
10 |
LONDON |
£32.49 |
*Includes daily coffee, lunch, daily season ticket cost, and x2 inner city bus rides
Laura Busby, Commercial Director at Good Travel Management, commented on the findings:
“Whether you’re a business traveller or a leisure commuter, understanding the factors that influence travel prices like distance, ticket types and current petrol and parking rates empowers you to make more economical choices.
“By doing so, travellers can ensure that their journeys are not only cost-effective but also more enjoyable, adding extra value to their travel experiences.”
Featured Photo by Marcin Nowak on Unsplash.