Workers returned to the commute on Thursday after guidance to work from home in England was lifted as Plan B measures are phased out.
An increase in road congestion was recorded in Manchester and London and public transport was busier than usual.
Meanwhile, Clive Watson, chief executive of City Pub Group welcomed the return of workers in towns and cities. The company, which runs around 50 pubs, predominantly in London and the south of England, said that January saw a slow month following Omicron caution but highlighted a “significant increase in trade” over the past 10 days.
Mr Watson said: “We obviously did not start the year in quite the place we would have hoped a month earlier but we’ve seen positive signs in the past week or two.
“We are massively positive about losing the Plan B restrictions and particularly the change regarding working from home.
“The return of office workers will be a much needed boost and gives us plenty of encouragement.”
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs in the Commons on Wednesday that work-from-home guidance would be dropped immediately and rules on face coverings in classrooms would also be scrapped in England from Thursday, January 20.
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Other measures, including the requirement to wear face masks on public transport and in shops, will end next Thursday (January 27).
The legal requirement for people with coronavirus to self-isolate will also be allowed to lapse when the regulations expire on March 24, and that date could be brought forward.
Location technology firm TomTom said road congestion levels – which represent the proportion of additional time required for journeys compared with free-flow conditions – were at 72% in London and 63% in Manchester at 8am on Thursday.
That is up from 66% in London and 56% in Manchester a week earlier.
But some cities saw a reduction or no significant change in traffic.
They include Birmingham (from 57% last week to 55% on Thursday), Brighton (from 60% to 50%), Hull (unchanged at 55%), Leeds (from 48% to 44%), Leicester (from 57% to 58%) and Liverpool (from 52% to 54%).
Rob Pitcher, Chief Executive of Revolution Bars Group, the Manchester-headquartered company, which is behind the Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba brands, welcomed the end of Plan B measures and urged more support for the hard-hit hospitality secto r.
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He said: "Yesterday's news of the scrapping of the work from home guidance and the cancellation of all other restrictions is very welcome for our business and will actively help rebuild consumer confidence.
"It is imperative that going forward there are no further restrictions as we all learn to live alongside Covid-19.
"We continue to urge the Government to support the recovery of the hospitality industry by leaving VAT at 12.5% and retaining business rates relief in line with the current levels of support.