Five o'clock is the end of the standard working day and the busiest hour on the British transport network. Trains out of the main London terminals run at maximum frequency, the motorway network slows to a crawl around every major city, and the phrase "half five" gets used for anything that will not be finished by then.
It is also when a great many services stop taking calls. Council switchboards, banks, surgeries and helplines commonly close at five, which turns the hour into a genuine deadline rather than a soft finish. Shops on high streets usually trade until half past or six.
For anyone finishing at five, the countdown to it is the most watched clock of the afternoon. For anyone who needs to reach a service before it closes, it is a hard limit — either way, the exact minutes left are what matter.
Common questions
Why does 5 pm act as a deadline?
Councils, banks, surgeries and most helplines close their phone lines at five, so anything needing a person has to happen before it.
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