August Bank Holiday ridership figures the highest since the pandemic as TfL encourages Londoners to get out and about this autumn

New ridership figures from Transport for London (TfL) show the busiest August Bank Holiday for bus journeys and Tube journeys since the pandemic.

The August Bank Holiday weekend saw the highest number of bus and Tube journeys since the pandemic in comparison to the same long weekend in previous years, as millions travelled to west London to commemorate the 75^th Windrush anniversary at Notting Hill Carnival. Bus travel this August Bank Holiday saw a near 10 per cent increase on the equivalent weekend last year, with Tube journeys seeing a near six per cent increase.* The weekend rounded off a busy summer on the network that saw stations in central London hit pre-pandemic levels at weekends, if not exceed them, by early August. As autumn now approaches, TfL is encouraging everyone to continue to explore the city and the range of events on offer.

After a strong summer of high ridership numbers, TfL is encouraging Londoners to walk, cycle and hop on public transport this September to make the most of the Open House Festival's inspiring programme of sites opening up to the public, and to discover an unfamiliar part of the capital.

The annual Open House Festival, a firm favourite in the city’s cultural calendar, returns this week from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 17 September, with more than 600 sites opening their doors in celebration of London's homes, architecture and neighbourhoods. Almost half of last year’s Open House Festival visitors discovered a new neighbourhood. **  With sites in every borough from zones 1-9, Londoners have plenty of inspiration this year to plan a day out in an area completely new to them and see fascinating buildings and spaces normally closed to the public.

TfL’s extensive transport network provides the ideal way to visit the sites and see new parts of the city, whether by bus, Tube or train, or by bicycle or on foot. There are many sites to explore in central London, but the Open House Festival programme also has some fantastic hidden gems in outer London boroughs to enjoy, some of which can be visited during the week for those who prefer to travel when the transport network is slightly quieter. These include:

• Crystal Palace Subway – A Conservation Journey on 15 September – tour a beautifully designed and crafted relic of Victorian construction from 1865, hidden under Crystal Palace Parade. Take the London Overground to Crystal Palace or take one of the several bus routes serving the site
• Shirley Windmill on 17 September - the only surviving windmill in Croydon, built in 1854. Take bus routes 466, 130, 119, 194 or 198
• From Forest to Morris: A walk around Walthamstow on 8-10 and 15-17 September - a walk around historic Walthamstow showing how this unique area grew from a village into a thriving suburb, its social history and the variety of buildings. The nearest stations are Walthamstow Central and Walthamstow Queens Road, with several bus routes serving the site
• A House for Artists on 16 September - a creative workshop at a project designed to provide affordable, sustainable housing for artists, who will offer long-term civic and cultural engagement for communities in Barking Town Centre. Take the Tube or Overground to Barking, or bus routes 5 or 238
• Seven Acre Lake, Canons Park Estate on 10 September – a guided tour of the private Seven Acre Lake in the Canons Park Estate, with Canada geese, swans and ducks

As the London Underground celebrates 160 years of serving the capital, TfL will be showing Tube enthusiasts the architecture of the expanded Bank and Monument stations and the history of the 1923 Northern line extension stations as part of pre-booked tours on this year’s Open House Festival programme. IFS Cloud Cable Car will also put on a tour.

The Open House Festival celebrated its 30^th anniversary last year, generating £2.9m** in visitor spending over the fortnight, including on public transport, in a boost for the city’s economy.

Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said: “London has been roaring back this summer, with Londoners and tourists from around the world using TfL’s network to explore our capital’s cultural gems. There is much more to enjoy this autumn as London plays host to a wide range of events, including London Fashion Week and Open House Festival. I hope that many more Londoners and visitors will use public transport to discover our city, as we continue to build a more prosperous London for everyone.”

Emma Strain, TfL’s Customer Director, said: “We have had a bumper summer with people using public transport to make the most of London’s cultural offerings, including the Notting Hill Carnival over the Bank Holiday weekend. The summer season might now be coming to an end, but there’s still plenty to see and do. This September we encourage people to take public transport, walk or cycle to explore a different side to the city with the Open House Festival, with the rare opportunity to see the inner workings of London’s buildings and sites and find out the secrets of our incredible city.”

Phineas Harper, Chief Executive of Open House Festival, said: "For over three decades the Open House Festival has made exploring London more open and accessible for tens of thousands of visitors every September. This year there's a fantastically diverse array of open days and walking tours in the programme that anyone can book onto for free. From an ingenious new prototype housing block for artists designed by Apparata Architects in Barking and Dagenham, to the newly refurbished historic Crystal Palace subway in Bromley, there's something for everyone, and every event in the Open House Festival is easily reachable by bike, foot or public transport."

With several sites in each part of the city open on the same day, visitors can easily fit in two or more in a day out. The following itineraries are just a few examples of the endless combinations of sites connected by public transport or a short walk or cycle:

• On Sunday 10 September, begin at Grove Gardens Chapel in Richmond, a Church of England mortuary chapel built around 1877 in the Gothic Revival style. Then take the R68 bus, or a gentle five-mile walk taking in Bushy Park, to Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare in Hampton, a Grade I listed Georgian garden building where Garrick housed his collection of Shakespeare relics
• For a bumper day of museums, start at the Cartoon Museum on Sunday 10 September to see an incredible 4,300 cartoons, comics and caricatures. A short bus ride away on bus route 7, the Hammersmith and City or Circle lines or Santander Cycles (Wells Street, Fitzrovia to Blenheim Crescent, Ladbroke Grove) is the Museum of Brands in Notting Hill, where you can catch a historic talk on the history of the building and see consumer historian Robert Opie’s collection of 12,000 branded items
• Learn about and celebrate the women of London on Friday 15 September. Walking tour: Sisters in the City starts at Liverpool Street station and finishes at St Paul's cathedral, visiting places connected to incredible women including feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft. From St Paul’s take bus route 344, Santander Cycles (Godliman St, St Pauls to Lambeth Palace Road, Waterloo) or a 40-minute walk over the river to the Amazing Women in London Tour, in Lambeth, for a walking tour taking in statues of impressive women
• For a peaceful day in nature on Saturday 16 September, head to Olden Community Garden, a hidden green oasis in Islington. Listen to birdsong, follow trails into the woodland and orchard and help plant a lavender hedge. Then head on over to Fitzroy Park Allotments, Camden’s largest allotment, on bus route 263, with its high and diverse populations of insects and birds, bees and mammals
• For a day out in north London on 16 September, visit Good Growth in Angel Edmonton to explore newly developed places and spaces helping steward the area through significant change. Up your daily step count with a two-mile walk or take bus route 144 or 444 next to Turning Earth Ceramics Tottenham, a cake-making factory turned creative studios, where 80 makers will be selling handmade ceramics

Walking, cycling and taking public transport are cost-effective ways to travel in London. Daily capping means people can make as many pay-as-you-go journeys as they like using contactless or an Oyster card in one day. The bus and tram Hopper fare also allows unlimited journeys within the hour for the price of a single fare. Under 11s travel for free and the Freedom pass allows over 60s to travel for free after 09:00, making for a low-cost way to enjoy the festival. People are encouraged to check before they travel and plan their route in advance or on the go with Journey Planner on the TfL website, or with the free TfL Go app.

Earlier this summer TfL launched a new campaign to highlight the value and benefits of public transport as the ideal way to make the most of London during the summer and beyond.

Opting for public transport, walking or cycling also helps reduce congestion on London’s roads and improve air quality, leading to better health outcomes for Londoners. There are more than 12,000 Santander Cycles at around 800 docking stations across London, while TfL’s Cycleway network provides more than 350km of high-quality cycle routes that link communities, businesses and destinations across London. The Walk London Network, comprising seven routes, is one of the largest walking networks of any city in the world. There are now also more than 1,100 zero-emission buses in London, helping to clean up the city’s air.

London Underground enthusiasts can explore the secrets of Baker Street station with London Transport Museum’s Hidden London tour. Guests will be able to explore closed-off parts of the station including original platforms, with guided tours starting on 6 September and running from Wednesday to Sunday each week.

The Croydon Stands Tall Art Trail – part of the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture - also continues until 27 October, featuring a trail of giant giraffe sculptures in the town centre, one of which is dedicated to London Trams.