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Public Transport How can I avoid the London Underground? The London Underground, better known as the "tube", is not the only form of public transport in London, but it is clearly the most important. There are the famous red buses or even waterway services. But few Londoners have a choice and are resigned to taking the tube. To get monthly and annual Travelcards for the tube or the bus, go to Ticket-on-line or call them at 0870 849 9999. A new smartcard called Oyster that you can use on most London public transport is meant to revolutionise payment procedures and speed up entry and travelling movements (tel.: 0845 330 9876). What's so bad about the tube? It's ancient, dirty and loud, sticky in summer, freezing in winter, stinks, its service is unreliable, the long and deep escalators lead into depressingly claustrophobic underground stations, it stops at midnight, there is no cross-city fast train network like the RER in Paris, walking distances between stations can be big and its directions and platforms systems can be quite confusing at times. And the tube is expensive: from January 2004, a single Zone 1 ticket costs £2.00, a ten ticket "carnet" costs £15 and "Travelcard" season tickets for commuters for, say, Zone 1&2 can easily cost £80 per month! Other than that the tube is fine. If it works, it beats any other form of transportation in speed covering London's large distances. So, who is responsible for the poor state of the public transportation system? Years, no decades, of underinvestment. The London Underground is currently being privatised to be run by several different operators. Like the bus, river, tram and Docklands Light Railway system, it is supervised by Transport for London (TfL), an executive body of the Greater London Authority (GLA) reporting to the Mayor of London. How can I find everything I need to know about London's airports? Go to the website of the British Airports Authority to check flight timetables, live arrival times and terminal information at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Find similar information about Luton at their separate website. What do I need to know about taxis? There are the official, licensed, ubiquitous and famous so-called "black cabs", metered and with cabbies famous for 'The Knowledge' of London streets. Tell the driver whereabouts you want to go before getting into the taxi. To pay at the end, get out first and pay through the window. A very popular, safe and economical option is taxi service Addison Lee, who typically charge £1 per mile (tel.: 020 7387 8888). Always keep a few cab numbers handy, e.g.: 7286 2728; 7432 1432; 7253 5000; 7381 8000; 7722 7227; 7387 8888 (all are 020 numbers). And then there are the unlicensed so-called "minicabs", which look like regular cars, are run by private individuals, usually operating at late and night hours, often charging outragous fares (which need to be pre-negotiated, no meters!), while sometimes lacking a detailed knowledge of streets. |
Living in London Public Transport |
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