Transport in London is shit

If you're single, as Amy Roberts - the Northern Line's youngest driver - explains, it's difficult enough trying to date around working the tube's normal hours. In the WiFi-less depths of the network, you can't even check Tinder.

Ready for the robots now.

maybe it's the marxist extremist in me speaking but i'm generally p cool with people fighting to have acceptable working conditions that allow for acceptable living conditions

https://twitter.com/petefrasermusic/status/618710130088087552

maybe it's the marxist extremist in me speaking but i'm generally p cool with people fighting to have acceptable working conditions that allow for acceptable living conditions

This.

Walked two hours from Tottenham to Marylebone High St, through Finsbury Park and Camden and Regent's Park, listening to great music and taking in how beautiful London can be. P knacked now, but part of me wishes I could walk in every day.

myself and my coworkers all went to the pub - like a sudden decision prompted by nobody wanting to face westminster tube at 1730. it was a great impromptu night out.

[I meant I walked in this morning, above. Last night I walked 90 mins to Shoreditch to play a particularly knackering game of 5-a-side - luckily my route home was on the overground.]

ah i am working from home today

possibly my most banal post ever

actually i doubt it

i've made some worse than these for sure

hahahaha

working from home today too, the drilling of my road has just begun.

Also working from home but the VPN isn't working of course.

My road has been a construction site for about 18 months now but they're pretty quiet today, no drilling yet.

http://cl.ly/image/2O0k2x36193h/Screen%20Shot%202015-07-09%20at%2009.32.41.png

just as a disclaimer i only used these dudes once, to get back from a wedding reception in vauxhall, with two tired kids at 11pm

this sort of email just confirms what utter dickheads they are

I can categorically state right now that I have not and will never be troubled with an Uber rating.

Only one Thatcherbaby whinger on my FB feed, phew. A well-paid hairdresser who I've always suspected of being some kind of Tory.

Tube workers all the way, fuck Boris and the TFL... A.

What the fuck is up with cunts who, in spite of the fact that 5000 people are trying to get on an already overcrowded bus, won't use all the space at the back of the bus? And what the fuck is the problem with someone, anyone, having the gumption to say, "Listen, do you mind moving to the back of the bus there's 5000 people trying to get on here?" Anyway there was one such cunt on the bus I eventually managed to get on today, a couple of stops after theatrically barging my way past him to stand at the very back of the bus an empty seat became available, I sat down on it then got up and said to the guy, "I think you should have this seat as you don't seem prepared to move further up the bus to let more people on". He preferred to stand.

https://twitter.com/RMTLondon/status/618889268434317312

boom

Zingin' it

As a cyclist, lot of amateur cyclists out there today. A lot of amateur pedestrians too, no visible evidence that they've ever operated a physical body near roads.

Oh yeah fuckin hell the first time cyclists at elephant and Castle were just like glitched GTA AI this morning, amazed I didn't see two kill each other in the five minutes I spent going through it

I audibly growled when I got that uber email but maybe I should of growled at ~myself~

What the fuck is up with cunts who, in spite of the fact that 5000 people are trying to get on an already overcrowded bus, won't use all the space at the back of the bus? And what the fuck is the problem with someone, anyone, having the gumption to say, "Listen, do you mind moving to the back of the bus there's 5000 people trying to get on here?" Anyway there was one such cunt on the bus I eventually managed to get on today, a couple of stops after theatrically barging my way past him to stand at the very back of the bus an empty seat became available, I sat down on it then got up and said to the guy, "I think you should have this seat as you don't seem prepared to move further up the bus to let more people on". He preferred to stand.

You regard other bus users as 'cunts' through righteous indignation, you theatrically barge past people physically taking out your own frustrations on them and you create a confrontational drama....

I really hope I don't get on a bus with you.

anyway stay strong tubestrike whingers, it'll all be over tomorrow and u can go back to moaning about how unaffordable london is and how its just a playground for the super-rich these days

Oh give it a rest, Mother Fucking Theresa (xp)

I wonder what kinds of jobs the people who are saying "I was a tourist in my own city! Spent several hours walking to work in the sunshine and loved every second!" have? Do you just have very laid back bosses?

I see a lot of sarcastic uses of 'slightly inconvenienced,' too, and I imagine it's a similar kind of thing: People fortunate enough to be able to afford to not think about any other scenarios, where issues of childcare, elder care, medical care mean a hell of a lot more than a 'slight inconvenience.'

The fucked laborer with a sick kid at home? You whinger; you Thatcherbaby - walk it off! Enjoy a podcast in the Sunshine on the Southbank, you Tory!

(xxp) *jabbing index finger and barging theatrically back into thread* And another thing...

I theatrically barged past a CUNT who, despite standing two feet away from a seething mass of people struggling to breathe squashed into about 10 cubic feet, was lolling about blocking a space that could easily have been filled by 3 or 4 of the 30 or 40 people who'd been waiting God knows how long to get on a bus to go to their work to pay their bills etc etc. So, yes, a cunt with no clue how to comport themselves in a public space and no consideration for anyone other than themselves and who deserved to have these facts pointed out to them so that maybe next time, maybe when you get on a bus to go to your work to pay your bills etc etc, he might act less like a cunt. Then again, maybe you use a jetpack to get to work in the morning, I don't know.

if you don't support people's right to strike then you're a Tory, sorry to break it to you

I wonder what kinds of jobs the people who are saying "I was a tourist in my own city! Spent several hours walking to work in the sunshine and loved every second!" have? Do you just have very laid back bosses?

Hey dipshit, the magazine I'm working on goes to press tonight, so I left work 90 minutes earlier than usual to get here on time because I can't be late. Apologies if I enjoyed my walk in, instead of stomping around ruminating on how my need to get into work trumps the safety and salary of the people who work hard running the tube. I probably won't be home until 9pm tonight after another 2 hour walk home and I will see my baby daughter for exactly 45 minutes today thanks to the inconvenience.

But you know what? That still doesn't justify removing the collective bargaining rights of the people who work on the tubes, who I'm sure have similar needs and pressures as me. Good on them for fighting for their rights, and don't kid yourself that this isn't another step in the working lives of people who work in public services harder and less rewarding in any way.

If people call you Thatcherbaby it's probably because you come off as entirely self-centred and entitled in this thread.

if you don't support people's right to strike then you're a Tory, sorry to break it to you

^^^^

tbf if you don't support people's right to strike you might be a member of the PLP too. but you're still a Tory.

thread delivers

"hmm, you're not all screaming for the striking tube-workers' heads to be put on spikes outside buckingham palace, you must all have cushy jobs" is the most stupid whiny thoughtless bullshit i've read on ilx since lex called me a tory because i like buying records

since lex called me a tory because i like buying records

And still lex claims he doesn't like comedy.

this thread always gets lovely at tube strike time

Ribs man, I thought you were happy for those of us who were chill, what happened?

Incidentally, notcied this:

Ready for the robots now.

― Your Ribs are My Ladder, Thursday, July 9, 2015 12:07 AM (15 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

as a theme among Thatcherbabies today, like trying to make themselves feel better about the situation by drooling about the possibility of mass layoffs due to automation. Dunno if any of these people have thought about how much retrofitting the whole LU for driverless trains would cost, and how likely tfl are to have that kind of money to hand in the near future, but I guess maybe this sort of consolation rage-fantasy provides a safety valve of sorts, prevent too many people from going postal at the bus-stops.

hmm, you're not all screaming for the striking tube-workers' heads to be put on spikes outside buckingham palace

It's always this (it's happened elsewhere in this thread during one of the last of the strikes? These happen often) - it's always hysterical, there's no room for discussion that there's not something unsympathetic about fucking over, say, sick people (or even *admission* or *acknowledgement* that some people get fucked over by this beyond simple inconvenience? Or is the idea that yes, fine, some people get fucked over - collateral damage for the larger ideological point?).

Take a moment to imagine what this kind of thing does to a hospital - where most of the employees are making a lot less money for a lot more work, which I know is a touchy thing to bring up, because obviously we shouldn't be talking about dragging one group down rather than raising both up - and then read a quote about a driver complaining she can't get on Tinder underground.

There are shades to this shit. I just want it acknowledged. There are people who get genuinely fucked by this, and you have to be OK with that to take such a passionate, definitive stance.

collateral damage for the larger ideological point

What ideology?

of course there are shades - not being able to get on tinder underground is a shade

but this stuff has been acknowledged, time and again, above in this thread.

do you not think, perhaps, if the services of the tube-workers are so important, they should be respected and not fucked around as they have been by TFL in this instance (thinking specifically the dithering and late delivery and swift relinquishment before the union members could be adequately polled) of the deal last week? and do you not think that tfl hold at least as much blame for the strike as the unions?

are you saying that because their services are essential, that they should not be allowed collective representation, and that when their contracts are changed in a massively punitive way, as is being proposed, that they should just sit there and take it? are you saying that they cannot make their issues the safety of the new setup heard?

the unions are pilloried in pretty much every major press outlet whenever these strikes occur.

One of the notably bad things about the Tories which people seldom discuss is the suspicion and bitterness they engender in us.

divide & conquer

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CJfLLujWwAAsAR6.png:large

wait is that Dr Ruth behind him?

I think the fact that the tube strike will cause disruption in London has been fairly widely acknowledged. It is the central theme of every article I have seen concerning it. The main one on the Guardian this morning did not even think to report why workers were going on strike, although it did find space to mention the minister for transport's views about it.

What are the shades you mention? that people are inconvenienced by strikes? yes, I think it is understood that this is a necessary part of strikes. it is the weight they carry, the leverage held by the worker. this is all fairly basic stuff. that other people are worse off? yes many people are very badly off in this country. public services have been under a sustained attack for decades and the budget announced yesterday is a reminder of the continual decline of the welfare state. I also work in the public sector and work very hard for little pay but I would prefer to stand in solidarity with other workers for better treatment and a fairer share of the extraordinary wealth of this city than to be governed by the politics of envy and resentment that defines mainstream public discourse concerning labour relations here.

Take a moment to imagine what this kind of thing does to a hospital - where most of the employees are making a lot less money for a lot more work, which I know is a touchy thing to bring up, because obviously we shouldn't be talking about dragging one group down rather than raising both up - and then read a quote about a driver complaining she can't get on Tinder underground.

Ribs, the strike is not actually about not being able to access Tinder underground.

yes, press coverage of this event has been simplistic, divisive, and superficial. which is pretty par for the course really. its worth having a think about how your response is being shaped by this.

I don't think the article even quotes this woman mentioning tinder. The way it's phrased implies to me that she pointed out that her already unsociable working hours were about to get much worse and then by way of explanation the article adds that tinder is unavailable on the tube. I mean potentially this strike is about access to dating apps, who am I to say.

MORE MISERY FOR COMMUTERS AS UNIONS 'SWIPE LEFT' OVER TINDER BAN

i would fully support a strike in favour of tinder access. but the wider point there, that working underground, especially as a driver, is intense, isolated, and lonely in a way that little other work is, and so deserves the adequate respect in every sense, is a good one too

Take a moment to imagine what this kind of thing does to a hospital - where most of the employees are making a lot less money for a lot more work

and they'd be doing even more work for even less money if not for successful strike actions in the past, and would probably be providing a worse service as a result. i have sympathy for the difficulties the strike has caused you, but even from yr hyperindividualistic standpoint we all ultimately benefit from public service workers getting a fair deal of things

As a cyclist, lot of amateur cyclists out there today. A lot of amateur pedestrians too, no visible evidence that they've ever operated a physical body near roads.

― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, July 9, 2015 11:55 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

didn't have too much of this - tho there were a lot more cyclists than usual, which created its own problems. a few drivers on a very short fuse. i gestured at one passing me very close to give me more space and he bawled at me 'do you want the whole road? not as if i touched you!' Wasn't time to say i tended to define 'touched' as 'hit' when it comes to cars.

more generally, arguments against the tube strike seem entirely mendacious. there was no consultation on the night working - a substantial change to t&cs - and the pay offer was pathetic. this is a unanimous walkout by skilled and professional staff who keep an astonishingly complicated transport network running remarkably efficiently for the most part (and are almost universally helpful and professional ime). people who complain about the effect of a strike, either general or examples specific referring to the immobile and the unwell, are only showing the value of that service and the people who provide it. In a meaningfully democratic society that's a value that's represented in money, specifically wages, and contractual terms. You want them to work nights to provide an extra service to the London public - what's it worth to you? The idea that vital public servants should suck up extra work without recourse to action only services an ideology that is determined to remove public services from the wider public. What NV said - if you don't support the strikes, you're a Tory. A few people use the 'ill person reliant on public transport' argument, and as already said, this only shows the worth of the people providing public transport. But there's a wider point, which is the defence of public services in a political environment which is ideologically determined to dismantle them. If you're ill you rely on the public services - a strike, though undoubtedly extremely unwelcome, is designed to help vulnerable people like that. A successful, fully implemented tube strike shows what can be achieved by hospital staff, general transport staff, the less well payed, but still very important, levels of the civil service. There has to be a recourse against a government determined to favour those with money and capital, and any fight against that is one that is designed to help the general public, the 90% if you like, regardless of whether that's acknowledged by the entirety of that public or not.

I know nearly everyone here knows this, but it sort of builds up inside you during the day, and you have to express it somewhere. The news, as plax said, has generally made no effort to explain the terms of the dispute, and is only interested in spurious 'why can't i get home' vox pop argument.

*theatrically barges out of thread*