Escape from London: New travel hack saves up to 82 minutes this weekend

As millions of Londoners look forward to the schools breaking up this weekend, new research from car sharing marketplace Turo reveals a travel hack that could save them up to 82 minutes when escaping the city.

The research shows that by combining London's public transport network with car sharing, travellers can bypass the worst of London's congestion and get to their destination 30% faster than driving directly from central London.

This hack works by taking the Tube or rail to an outer London station and picking up a car there, avoiding the gridlock that typically plagues London's roads at the start of busy weekends - when millions are expected to hit the roads out of the capital. Cars are available, across a range of price points, all over London on Turo.

The biggest time saving from this Road+Rail hack was 82 minutes for those heading to Hever Castle in Kent, while the average saving across eight popular weekend destinations offering everything from the countryside to wild swimming was 44 minutes.

Rory Brimmer, UK Managing Director of car sharing marketplace Turo, commented:

"Londoners face a simple problem when deciding on a weekend escape from the city. The train might be booked out for busy weekends and will often leave them stranded without a car achingly close to the things they actually want to see - castles, beaches, and countryside. But if they drive door to door, they start AND end their weekend with horrible London congestion."

"Our research shows that by combining London's excellent public transport network with Turo's distributed car sharing marketplace - or a friend’s car - people can save precious hours of their Bank Holiday weekend. This means more time enjoying your destination rather than sitting in traffic, particularly for day trips. It’s also a lot easier than trekking to Heathrow to rent a car if you’re one of the 62% of inner-Londoners who don’t own one.”

"We're encouraging Londoners to think differently about how they escape the city. Every minute saved is a minute more to enjoy your break."

The research analysed journey times from central London (Victoria) to eight weekend destinations that offered a range of activities not found in the city - including a winery, a castle, and the seaside.

Travel hack guide

The travel hack works by taking advantage of London's efficient public transport to quickly get beyond the congestion zone, then switching to a Turo car for the remainder of the journey. For example, travelers heading to Hever Castle would take the train to Orpington (28 minutes) and then drive from there (35 minutes), plus a five-minute transition time between modes - totaling 68 minutes compared to 150 minutes driving from central London.

Londoners can book a car through the Turo app or website, with a selection of hundreds of makes and models, starting from £25 a day.**