London transportation

helpful reminders painted on the streets

The most dangerous thing a person can do in London is cross the street.  There are 5 ways you can get around in the city: tube, bus, cab, bike, or walk. 

Taking a cab is the most expensive form of transportation but you are guaranteed to get where you need to go.  Licensed cab drivers drive black cars (that I'm pretty sure are government issued) and are self-employed.  In order to become certified, cabbies have to pass "the Knowledge."  Depending on whether the cabby wants to work in a suburb or the whole of London dictates the breadth of the test.  To be certified for the whole of London, the cabby has to learn 320 routes which usually takes 2 to 4 years of study.

Taking the tube is the second most expensive form of transportation.  It's roughly $3 per ride but it's quick and efficient and the tube system is easy to learn.  When you enter a tube station you scan your Oyster card (a card with pre-paid transportation credits) and then go to the tube line that you need to take.  There are 13 underground tube lines that all close around midnight.  A train on each line usually approaches every 1 to 3 minutes.  Once you are on the train, it is not considered polite to look strangers in the eye so most people either read the London Evening Standard, a free newspaper that people hand out when you enter the station, or just stare off into space.  Every time the tube stops at a station a woman's voice comes over the intercom and says: "mind the gap, please"... "mind the gap, please"... again and again until the little kids on the tube are impersonating the voice.  Londoners also apparently think this is funny because ladies can buy underwear that say "mind the gap."

A ride on one of London's famous red double-decker buses will cost you roughly $2.60 and you can pay by scanning your Oyster card that also works for the tube.  Now the bus system is tricky.  It is entirely possible for you to get on the right bus but have it take you in the wrong direction.  It all depends on the side of the road that you are on when you get on.  You can only imagine how frustrating this is when you have to get off at the next stop, retrace your steps, and try again.  The bus system runs 24 hours a day.    

Biking.  Biking is only available for people with European debit cards that have a chip in one side of them instead of a card that you slide. People insert their cards in a machine near the bikes, buy an access code, and then enter the code on the bike rack to take a bike.  Although this looks like fun, riding a bike on the opposite side of the road with buses and cabbies everywhere doesn't sound easy. Also it's always raining so this is a lesser desirable form of transport.

And lastly, you can always choose walk.  Perhaps in an effort to make London more safe for tourists, there are signs painted on the ground telling you which way to look for on-coming traffic.  Also, if you do happen to get in an accident the emergency number is "9-9-9" but if a frantic American happens to dial "9-1-1" the call will still go through.