Serving the East End of London, the London Docklands and the capital's eastern suburbs, the Great Eastern's suburban services had a much greater proportion of working class industrial workers, labourers and lower-ranking office workers than the suburban networks of the likes of the London and South Western Railway or the Metropolitan. The GER had to transport greater numbers of passengers commuting in and out of the urban centre and at lower fares. The GER encouraged passenger numbers with low-price 'workman fares' services which ran in the early morning and late evening. There was a symbiotic relationship between the railway and property development - the existence of the railway made it possible for even industrial workers to move into new housing developments in the suburbs which then provided extra custom for the GER. The GER itself invested in property development near its routes and in some cases even built its own housing on land purchased as part of railway construction.