England’s dramatic World Cup win over Mexico did not just keep fans awake into the early hours of Monday morning. According to INRIX data, it also appears to have changed the shape of the next morning’s commute.
The Round of 16 match at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca was already a punishingly late fixture for British viewers, with kick-off scheduled for 1am BST on Monday 6 July. Thunderstorms and lightning around the stadium delayed the start by a further hour, pushing kick-off back to 2am BST and turning a late night into an all-nighter for many England fans. England went on to beat Mexico 3-2, with the match drawing record overnight audiences for the BBC of 9.1 million views despite the lateness of the hour.
The timing immediately prompted national discussion about what Monday morning would look like. Ahead of the game, media coverage focused on whether fans could take the day off, arrive late, or request flexible working, while the TUC called on employers to show flexibility where possible. The following morning, school attendance data suggested a visible football effect too, with estimates that around 332,000 fewer pupils were in school than the previous Monday.
INRIX observed a similar pattern on the roads. Across a number of English cities, AM rush-hour traffic was notably lighter than normal, with average speeds rising as fewer vehicles competed for road space.
In the Monday morning peak, INRIX recorded traffic speeds approximately 4 mph faster than usual in Leeds and Newcastle, 3 mph faster in Birmingham and 2mph better in Manchester and London.
“Major sporting events often reshape travel behavior, but this was a particularly clear example,” said Nathan Nekrews, Data Analyst at INRIX. “The match finished at exactly the wrong time for the morning commute. The result was a quieter rush hour across English cities, with faster average speeds suggesting that a meaningful number of people either delayed their journeys, worked from home, took time off, or simply started the day later.”
The pattern is especially interesting because it was not caused by disruption on the road network itself. Instead, it appears to reflect a short-term change in demand: fewer commuters travelling at the normal time after a uniquely late, high-interest national sporting event.
And north of the border? Well, Scottish football fans are famously indifferent (at best!) to the fate of England’s footballers, and INRIX data backs this up with no noticeable change to morning traffic across Scotland’s cities the morning after the match.