Milton Keynes among the top areas in the UK for people returning to the workplace

New research suggests more people are leaving home for work in Milton Keynes than in most cities in the UK.
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Research completed by merchant payments provider, Dojo, using Google Maps shows Milton Keynes has ranked among highest for commuting footfall in Britain.

Coming out of a third national lockdown Milton Keynes is one of the areas where the most workers are making the choice to travel rather than work from home.

Dojo compared the footfall at the height of the pandemic in mid-January 2021 and when restrictions started to lift in mid-April 2021 to find out which cities and towns are phasing back into the workplace.

Milton Keynes ranks 14th for post-lockdown workplace travelMilton Keynes ranks 14th for post-lockdown workplace travel
Milton Keynes ranks 14th for post-lockdown workplace travel

In the past couple of weeks Milton Keynes has ranked among one of the cities with the biggest influx of people returning back to work, it ranked 14th among the top 15 UK cities and towns.

Data from April shows a 14% increase in footfall at workplaces within the city with people returning back to work when compared with figures from January 2021. Milton Keynes' current footfall however, remains 37% below pre-pandemic levels.

The percentage of workplace footfall for each date in the data is compared to the baseline average footfall pre-pandemic, with the baseline being 0%. Therefore in January Milton Keynes saw 51% lower footfall compared to pre-pandemic levels, however rising in April to just 37% lower footfall.

The data shows that although people are still not back to work as much as pre-pandemic levels. But that this easing of restrictions shows a gradual move back into the city centre to commercial offices and places of work.

Data compiled by DojoData compiled by Dojo
Data compiled by Dojo

Jon Knott, head of customer insights at Dojo, said: "This increased footfall back into city centres will be no-doubt welcomed by small businesses operating in town and city centres that have been forced to close due to lack of footfall.

"Coffee shops and cafes may see some benefit from commuters slowly returning from their homes to their workplaces. Not only are the high street and commercial centres of each city seeing more people return, but also potentially transport stations which are frequented by commuters.”

Chelmsford, Luton and Southend made up the top three towns and cities when it came to an increase in people heading back to workplaces. In Chelmsford 19% of people who worked at home during the third lockdown are traveling in again.

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