50-Year Study of 117,000 London Transport Workers Reveals Lung Cancer Risk is More Than Double for Drivers and Underground Staff Compared to Office Workers

A study of 117,000 TfL workers finds that bus and Tube staff have significantly higher mortality and lung cancer risks compared to office-based employees.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 27, 2026, 11:10 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from the journal Scientific Reports.

Tracking the Health of a Multimodal Workforce

London’s transport network is a global juggernaut, facilitating approximately 26.1 million journeys every day. Behind this system is an occupationally diverse workforce of over 30,000 employees. While short-term health impacts of urban transit work have been studied previously, a new 50-year analysis published in Scientific Reports provides the first long-term look at how these roles affect life expectancy. By analyzing the pension records of 117,166 employees, researchers have quantified a stark "health gap" between those who operate the transit lines and those who manage them from behind a desk.

The "Job Role" Disparity in Mortality Rates

The study categorized workers into four groups: Bus Workers, London Underground (LU) staff, Engineers, and Office Workers (the control group). After adjusting for age, sex, and the decade of employment, the data revealed that operational staff face significantly higher risks:

London Underground Workers: 23% higher all-cause mortality risk.

Bus Workers: 17% higher all-cause mortality risk.