Transport in London is shit

xp Any newsagent who sells travel cards will sell Oyster cards too.

Even in a city as big as Bristol, there are no such things as night buses, and Manchester's will allow you to go down the Oxford Road, anywhere else you're screwed. It was a big deal when the bus system went down the other day due to snow- the first time this has ever happened apart from Xmas day.

Pretty much every major bus route in london will run every 15 mins throughout every night- amazing, IMO.

I have lived in other cities. I have lived in NYC, whose mass transit system is so much better than London's it's not even funny.

Pretty much every major bus route in london will run every 15 mins throughout every nigh

Just. Not. Fucking. True. The number of times I've waited half an hour to an hour in the freezing cold on London Bridge...

Well, compare the buses to the buses you get in the US, which are twice the size and hold half as many people.

Though I really liked last weekend when only three out of the 12 (?) Tube lines were running in full without any kind of closures.

I suppose timetabling might not match the reality, but even so.

lol if we have to compare to other UK cities to make london seem halfway decent...compare to tokyo or berlin, where the metro lines run to the minute.

the london bus system is good, yes, but in practical terms this is counterbalanced by the congestion on the roads.

I mean, in Northampton, buses run between 7am and 6pm. Just as a comparison point.

Northampton isn't exactly a global capital of 7 or 8 million people, though, is it? The best comparison is with other major Western European capitals, and frankly, I can't think of a single one that is as bad or as expensive as London. It took me an hour to get from Stoke Newington to Waterloo yesterday, hardly a huge distance.

and an hour from stoke newington to waterloo is REALLY GOOD for that route.

when i worked in soho i experimented with walking home to dalston a few times, and it took me 10 fewer minutes than my usual bus journey.

I grew up in London, then moved back here six months ago - I work to work, but take the tube to see friends/ go out etc, mostly on weekends.

I would say I get to where I want to go quickly and hassle free about 40% of the time, and am able to get to where I want to go, at all (without using an unexpected bus and being so late there's no point in going), another 35% of the time. I don't really think that's acceptable, maybe other people would? This is Zone 1 btw.

I live in Stoke Newington, and work in Waterloo, and my commute takes an hour. The problem with Stoke Newington is not the bus service, it's the lack of tube stations, but that's a choice I made when I moved here. When I lived in Maida Vale, I could get from home to work, door to door, in half an hour.

Anyway, I agree that public transport in London is not as good as it should be. Key reason, in my opinion, is the fact that London was without any cewntral government for about 15 years. I know it's a cliche to blame Mrs T, but her government bears responsibility for London's transport problems, I think.

when i worked in soho i experimented with walking home to dalston a few times, and it took me 10 fewer minutes than my usual bus journey.

The near-constant bottleneck of traffic on Kingsland Road is fucking soul-crushing. I really can't wait for the East London Line extension, it'll make my whole life so much easier. I did once manage to get from Blackheath to Dalston in half an hour, that must have been some kind of record.

The only major international city I've been to with a worse public transport system is New York, funnily enough. Although at least New York's seems to work most of the time but it's still annoying as hell.

compare to tokyo or berlin, where the metro lines run to the minute.

tokyo = no night buses, if you want to get home after about 1230 your options are expensive taxi, waiting until the trains start again at 6ish, or... walking! Plus, tokyo buses can have a pretty loose relationship with their timetables.

The best comparison is with other major Western European capitals, and frankly, I can't think of a single one that is as bad or as expensive as London.

Having experienced the overcrowded, overheated slog that is Lisbon's public transport system, I'm calling bullshit on this. Trams look lovely but good god I'd hate to have to use them every day.

The best comparison is with other major Western European capitals, and frankly, I can't think of a single one that is as bad or as expensive as London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_Metro

Don't know Rome but I do know Lisbon, and I can imagine commuting might be tricky. Lisbon is small and poor with tricky geography. At least it's cheap though! But big wealthy cities like Paris, Madrid, Berlin etc... their public transport systems are so far ahead of London's it's not funny.

The near-constant bottleneck of traffic on Kingsland Road is fucking soul-crushing.

i find that kingsland rd is usually ok? unless you mean up by dalston junction itself, in which case otmfm.

other soul-crushing bottlenecks of london which kill me on a regular basis: liverpool street, angel, fucking HOLBORN, jesus christ i hate holborn circus so much. once on my way into work it took me 35 actual minutes to get around it. that day i arrived 1hr and 50 minutes late :(

The traffic going west on Holborn is the worst in the entire city I think. Going east it seems fine but as I work there, I actively try and avoid arranging any meetings west of my office.

Where does anyone live in London?
I am a Londoner born and bred (and proper London at that, none of this south of the river nonsense) and I love the place, but being there for more than a couple of days just wears me out. Getting around is very difficult. Except by foot which can be the greatest thing in the world. Except when it's raining.

TFL: I appreciate your concern for my transport needs but I can honestly do without an individual email for every sodding bus route that may be facing disruption.

Kindly stick your 521 up your 521.

first time with a new overground train this morning - no carriage walls so it's like a big long bendy bus! loads of aisle room as well, have to say i was pretty impressed.

gonna have to take the 242 from east into town later and i JUST FUCKING KNOW those lazy cunts will stop it after holborn viaduct LIKE THEY ALWAYS CUNTING DO.

too fucking hot to use the tube in the summer. esp when you have to wear a suit. hopefully the olympics will make TFL put in some AC.

Hey Londoners who have to get overground trains into work, are you all looking forward to the cut in the number of trains coming into effect on December 13th? Not to mention everyone else who's going to suffer from even more overcrowded tubes and buses as a result?

Having not cycled to work since I broke my leg two months ago I was looking for additional motivation to get back on my bike again. This'll be it, then. Thanks TFL!

I've just checked and there are now FOUR fewer trains going from my local station between 7 and 9am.

this is exactly the kind of thing that kicks my work ethic out of its default slumber - if i don't get on with this shit THIS IS THE ALTERNATIVE

hang on WHAT

Think the way it worked was:

Govt: "Hey guess what, we're going to stop subsidising you as much and you'll have to pay back some of the money we gave you"

Rail companies: "Okay but you'll have to let us cut some services to make up the shortfall"

Govt: "Okay!"

(I think some companies have already implemented the cuts and others haven't yet, it's only South Eastern Trains cuts that come into force next month)

> cut in the number of trains coming into effect on December 13th?

saw a poster on tube yesterday trumpeting an increase in tube frequencies (circle line, hammersmith and city)

Which is of next to no use to most people who are likely to be affected by this.

remind me if the impending latest fare rises are lower than inflation or whut

not being funny here but aside from matt dc i am probably the most-affected ilxor by this because i live in the no-tube heaven that is SE London

also i am a miserable penniless student

everyone at connex south whatever they're called these days can frankly do one...i hate you

increasing numbers of circle and h&c trains? not evident by my shit journey today.

ah, this is what they meant (poster was circle line but also talked about hammersmith which isn't on the circle line. yet.)

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article6927561.ece

(and that's only from dec 13th)

I think there are commuter towns/villages in Kent that are seeing their number of trains into the City halved. Cannon Street services look like they're bearing the brunt of the cuts. Oh, and they've added more services through to Victoria meaning that people will have to pile on the Tube from there.

(Haha also way to piss off swing voters in middle class areas just before an election dudes)

i'm voting for the Civil Disobedience Party

Oh, and they've added more services through to Victoria meaning that people will have to pile on the Tube from there.

They really need to open a second down elevator and switch the entrance gates if they're going to be able to handle an influx of train passengers in that station, I think.

Until then I will continue to take the longer but relatively relaxed bus/tube journey.

london bridge tube station at rush hour is a vision of hades fwiw

Yeah that interchange is as horrific as virtually everywhere on the Jubilee/Northern lines is. And getting on the Northern Line there during peak hours is virtually impossible.

as i have had to do every weekday morning for nine weeks and they wonder why i've snapped

Have been hearing worrying reports of this from

http://twitter.com/ihatethameslink

I am so glad I have flexitime, so I can wait and bypass the helltimes.

As awful as both Victoria and London Bridge are to transfer, neither of them are as bad as ::shudders:: Elephant & Castle.

I read somewhere that the Northern Line is the busiest of all lines. If that's true I'm glad I rarely have to use it.

My morning tube journeys start either at Brixton or E&C, so at least I always get a seat. E&C is a total shithole (definite *shudders* -- I get a bus there on the way home and I rarely enjoy being there unless I can overhear grown men arguing about Jesus). I find the worst thing about interchanging at E&C for any service to be the way the station sprawls and the way it's so crowded all the time where the buses stop.

Hey, I actually quite love Elephant & Castle, as a place. But I recognise that it takes a certain kind of Sarf London grimness to appreciate it. (also, the Faraday Memorial! my ex was obsessed with that thing.) I admit that it's one of the Seven Hellmouths of London, but hey, I've got a soft spot for hellmouths.

I just hate having to transfer there, ESPECIALLY when they're only running one of the damn elevators like they were the other night.

I don't know how they manage to have so many different lines pass through there, pretend to transfer and actually be NOWHERE NEAR one another.

My morning tube journeys start either at Brixton or E&C, so at least I always get a seat.

Same, when I bother with it at all. The buses from Peckham/Dulwich have actually been fairly reliable recently and seem to (mostly) make it up the Walworth Road in relatively decent time so I've generally been able to avoid getting off at E&C to accelerate my journey. It still takes ages but at least it's relatively pleasant.

(Having said that, it's now guaranteed to be a fucker tomorrow and i'll still be a Camberwell at 8.30)

I could have sworn there was a thread about the Elephant and Castle on ILX, but I cannot seem to find it. :-(