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London's footfall suffers amid public transport strikes

By Don-Alvin Adegeest

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Retail

Image: London transport

In what is usually the busiest time of year, footfall in Central London is seeing significant impacts from train strikes, as shopping trips are postponed and workers urged to stay at home.

On Tuesday at 1pm footfall had dropped 31.7 percent compared to the previous week, with high street footfall down 9.5 percent over last year, reported Springboard.

“The gap from the 2019 level has not been as wide since the beginning of 2022,” Springboard insights director, Diane Wehrle said. “Inevitably, given its reliance on public transport, footfall in Central London has been hit even harder, with a drop of 31.7 percent from last week and the gap from 2019 widening to 41.8% – by far the largest gap from 2019 since 2021.”

“The impact on retail and hospitality businesses in what is a critical trading time of the year, less than two weeks before Christmas, will undoubtedly be severe and could mean failure for some.”

Further travel chaos by the weather has seen severe disruption across the capital, in addition to the near 40,000 rail workers will strike across Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday over work and pay conditions.

Footfall
London transport