Letchworth is well connected for a town of its size, and most of that comes from the railway line through the middle of it. Direct trains run to London and to Cambridge. Gigabit broadband reaches most homes. The buses run every day of the week, though not often. In practice, most people either drive or work from home.
Letchworth Garden City station has direct trains south to King's Cross and through St Pancras to Brighton, and north to Cambridge and King's Lynn. Hitchin, Baldock and Arlesey stations are all nearby. The 2021 census found only about 4% of working residents commuting by train, and about 1% by bus, even though the town has 185 bus stops. The station was built in 1912 at the end of Broadway, the best spot in the plan, and most of the town now drives past it.
Driving and working from home dominate the commute. About 43% of working residents drove in the 2021 census, 37% worked from home, about 8% walked and about 2% cycled. Car ownership splits two ways: about a fifth of households have no car, while about 36% have two or more. A town built so people could walk to the factory now mostly works without leaving the house at all.
The Department for Transport's modelled journey-time figures put the nearest town centre about 9 minutes away by car, 12 by bike, 16 by public transport and 20 on foot. Those are averages across the area. The car and bike times hold up well over the years, while the public transport figure dates from 2019 and is the most likely to be out of date.
Everyday trips follow the same pattern. On the same Department for Transport figures, a doctor's surgery is about 8 minutes by car, 14 by public transport and 15 on foot, and a food shop about 7 minutes by car or 8 on foot. A hospital is about 20 minutes by car and 43 by public transport, and a typical place of work about 13 minutes by car and 17 by public transport. These are modelled averages from 2019. The driving and walking times depend only on distance, so they keep well. The bus times depend on timetables that have been cut since, so they deserve less trust.
The buses do run. The 155 stops with timetable data average 33 departures each on a weekday and about 2 an hour at peak, and every one of them has some weekend service. That is a usable town service for shopping and the school run, but for the commute most people drive.
About 84% of premises can get gigabit broadband, 86% ultrafast and 97% superfast, and none fall below the legal minimum. Mobile coverage is complete on the 4G and 5G networks, with every operator present across the town to the nearest percent. For the 37% working from home, the connection holds up.
Road noise reaches the area. Every postcode in Letchworth is near or above 65 decibels on the official road-noise mapping, the level that mapping treats as significant, and the loudest band recorded is 75 decibels or more. Rail noise is a separate source, with about 31% of postcodes near or above 65 decibels from trains and a loudest band of 70. The railway cut through the middle of the estate before the first house went up, so the line was there before any of the homes beside it. The road-noise map is worth checking for the exact street, because the figure covers the whole town.
Letchworth has 9 public charge points with 15 connectors between them, and 2 of those are rapid. With 2 rapid units, charging is something you plan, and most electric car owners will want a drive with their own charger.
Letchworth is better connected than average. The station and the broadband do most of the work, and the buses are the weak point.