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The Underground Heat Crisis
London Underground journeys totalled over 1 billion in 2024, a clear sign that, despite hybrid working and rising costs, the Tube remains the backbone of London’s daily commute, but with so many people relying on it, the cracks are beginning to show.
London’s oldest and deepest lines have always been toasty, but rising temperatures, increasing passenger numbers, and an aging infrastructure are creating the perfect storm.
Some lines were built over a century ago and ventilation was an afterthought. Newer lines like the Elizabeth line have air-con and provide some rest bite, but the majority of lines still don’t have it. On top of this, climate change is compounding the problem and engineers are struggling to keep up.
While Transport for London has trialled everything from groundwater cooling to lab-tested cooling panels (with promising results), there’s quite simply no quick fix. Retrofitting air con into 100-year-old tunnels? Near impossible, and hugely expensive.
So if the system can’t cool down fast enough, maybe it’s time to rethink how we use it?
Do We Really Need to Commute This Way?
The traditional 9-to-5, office-based, daily commute model feels increasingly out of sync with reality. More heat, more crowding, more delays AND more emissions.
Yet, most companies still plan around outdated assumptions, that everyone should be commuting in, every day, using the same congested routes at the same time.
Let’s be clear, public transport is still one of the most sustainable ways to travel. The Tube, trains, and buses are far better for the planet than driving solo. But when the system is overheated, overcrowded, and under strain, even low-carbon choices become physically and mentally draining.
The result?
Employee wellbeing takes a hit with heat stress, longer journeys, and rising burnout. No one wants to start their day with a cramped and sweaty journey to work.
Productivity drops, as no one does their best work dehydrated and annoyed after their commute.
Carbon emissions soar. Commuting is a major contributor to Scope 3 emissions, yet is often overlooked or poorly tracked.
Sustainable transport is part of the solution but it needs to be supported by smarter business policies, flexible work models, and better data. Otherwise, we risk forcing employees to choose between their health and their carbon footprint.
It’s Time to Move Better
If the future of the Tube is hot, expensive, and unreliable, the future of commuting can’t just be more of the same. We need new models, more flexibility and smarter planning, led by businesses. Here’s what that could look like:
Smarter hybrid working
Move beyond one-size-fits-all policies and instead of mandating fixed office days, build a hybrid model based on real business need, employee wellbeing, and emissions data. Align team days with cooler travel periods, use data to stagger start times so staff can avoid the rush, or reduce unnecessary travel altogether and give employees flexibility when extreme weather hits.
Make low-carbon choices the easy ones
Public transport is still one of the most sustainable ways to get around, but when the Underground feels like a furnace, employees need real alternatives.
Encourage active travel by making it safe, practical, and rewarding. That might mean:
Offering cycle-to-work schemes or e-bike subsidies
Providing secure bike parking, lockers, and showers
Supporting walking and micromobility options for shorter trips
Giving staff flexibility to travel outside the hottest hours
Build a culture where active, low-impact travel is the default when possible, and where staff don’t have to choose between their carbon footprint and their comfort.
Add commuting into your ESG strategy & stop relying on spreadsheets
Commuting may be outside your four walls, but it’s inside your Scope 3, so don’t treat it as an afterthought, treat it as an opportunity.
Manual estimates won’t cut it, instead you need accurate, journey-level data that reflects how your people actually move. Commuting data can strengthen your carbon disclosures, improve investor trust, and show employees you’re walking the walk on sustainability.
Provide real-time travel support
Help staff make better travel decisions, not just greener, but also more comfortable and practical in the moment.
That could mean:
Surfacing quieter or cooler travel times
Highlighting cleaner alternatives (like rail over taxi, or bus over car)
Offering incentives for swapping out higher-emission trips, like taking a bike instead of a taxi, walking instead of a one-stop Tube ride, or choosing the bus when it’s less crowded
Encouraging flexible routing, empowering employees to mix and match modes to suit the conditions and cut carbon
The aim isn’t to push people off public transport, it’s to make it easier for them to choose the best journey for the day, whether that’s active travel, the bus, or a heat-conscious Tube alternative.
Where TripShift Comes In
At TripShift, we help businesses actually understand how their teams move and what that movement costs in carbon.
Whether it’s a boiling Tube ride, a cycle to a client meeting, or a lift share across town, TripShift automatically tracks real journeys and emissions in real time without the guesswork.
We believe in giving organisations the tools to build commuting strategies that are cleaner, smarter, and more human. Because a better commute isn’t just good for your ESG report, it’s good for your people too.
The Takeaway
If this summer’s commute feels like a warning sign, that’s because it is. The world is changing, and our journeys need to change with it.
So before you send everyone back into the Underground sauna, ask yourself: is there a better way?
(P.S. There is. And we’d love to show you.) Let’s talk about rethinking your commuting emissions.
