Arthur Figgis ] wrote in message . ..
[1]I can't imagine many people would commute /from/ Heathrow, owing to
a lack of housing near the airport stations?

Actually, commuting from Gatwick has more to do with plentiful
convenient parking and frequent services than anything else. Call it
'Gatwick Parkway' if you will. An ex-colleague of mine used to live
somewhere near East Grinstead, and park-and-ride from Gatwick was the
easiest way to get to work in London.

In the case of Heathrow, there are more options for park-and-ride, and
indeed more options for using other stations as railheads for a
commute -- usually at much less cost. Plus I'd guess that with
Heathrow being more hemmed in and more prestigious, parking would be
rather more expensive. I'd believe that a few people who live in the
Staines direction and work in the Paddington area might park-and-ride
from T4 though -- and if T5 gets decent parking with direct access off
the M25, it might spur significant park-and-ride.