Sidelined

18 August 2020 By Ed Cropley Follow @edwardcropley

Employers like accountants PwC think offices will be permanently slimmed down after Covid-19. Less commuting means more government help for rail, and even less room for the profit motive. Nationalisation, rather than Britain’s messy halfway house, might even improve services.

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Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and investment bank Schroders will let the majority of their employees continue to work from home after the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, the Guardian reported on Aug. 17.

Industry watchdog Transport Focus said on Aug. 18 that two-thirds of normal rail commuters planned to work from home more on a permanent basis. It also called for a shakeup of the fares system, to allow for more flexible season tickets for those wanting to travel less than five days a week.

Following a “stay at home” lockdown announced on March 23, UK rail passenger use dropped to around 5% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Department for Transport. Since the easing of restrictions, that proportion has increased to around 25%.

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