Left behind Londoners: Digital Exclusion and Disadvantage in London Transport

Document summary

A digitally excluded person is somebody who either is unable to, or chooses not to, ever go online, whether using mobile data, Wi-Fi or cabled internet, on any device. A digitally disadvantaged person is somebody who does fewer than five activities online and uses mobile data once a week or less: they may use some online services but be excluded from others.

Digitally disadvantaged or excluded people fall into two broad categories: those who cannot go online because of the barriers they face, and those who do not want to do so. Ofcom’s Technology tracker 2022 found that most (75%) of those without internet access said they were unlikely to get access within the next 12 months: the key reason was a perception that they just do not need the internet. Compared to Londoners overall, digitally disadvantaged or excluded people are more likely to be older (55+), white, Disabled and have a lower income. Our qualitative research found that these elements often interplay, so a digitally excluded or disadvantaged person may be both older and Disabled, meaning they face multiple barriers.

In their 2021 UK Consumer Digital Index, Lloyds Bank estimated that 270,000 Londoners are offline (3%) and nearly 2 million (20%) have very low digital engagement.