All Things London Transport...

[Frankb88]

Well, just wondered what your views on it is?
If you have any interesting pictures feel free to post aswell, they are more than welcome.

My personal view of the transportation system in general is that it is pretty shocking.
To start, busses... for those of you who do not live in london and find yourself waiting for a bus in london, don't even bother, your better off walking. Even in the suburbs the busses are ridiculously bad with a minority of the routes actually running anywhere near the way it is supposed to.

The underground... Whereas it is a great way to get around i have to admit, it is ULTRA handy, you tend to feel like a sardine in the stations and even more so on the train. London underground in the middle of rush hour is my idea of hell. London underground at off peak times can be a pleasant experience.

The overground trains, for example Thames link. etc, are probably the only forms of public transport i don't have a moan about. Yes, every now and then you might find a train is due to come 20 minutes late than time tabled due to some unavoidable problems, except for that they run pretty much like clockwork and actually quite regularly.

You can not fault the sheer amount of it! I cannot think of a single place that i know in london that doesnt have a way of reaching it via public transportation. venturing outside london is a different story though, whereas you get so used to being able to go anywhere from where you are inside london, when it comes to going outside london you often have to switch between quite a few stations and travel quite a way just to find a train going to the place your looking for. You can't knock it i suppose, its just the high expectations of being a londoner!

[Ameecher]

Buses in East and South East London are fine. Regular (every 10/15mins) and generally in good condition and always serve where I want to go.

I don't use the tube anymore (as walking from "the street" to London Bridge is quicker than the circle and change to the northern) unless I've decided to go from Stratford to London Bridge by the Jubilee but then I usually go via the Docklands to Lewisham which is a first class transport system. Personally I don't have any gripes about especially with an oyster card.

[Frankb88]

Buses in East and South East London are fine. Regular (every 10/15mins) and generally in good condition and always serve where I want to go.

I don't use the tube anymore (as walking from "the street" to London Bridge is quicker than the circle and change to the northern) unless I've decided to go from Stratford to London Bridge by the Jubilee but then I usually go via the Docklands to Lewisham which is a first class transport system. Personally I don't have any gripes about especially with an oyster card.

Come to the west london and try using their busses, you'd change your mind quite quickly

Im not the most regular user of public transport any more, i got sick of it a while ago now and bought a shiny car instead of grotty busses!
What brings me to the congestion charge... lol

[Ameecher]

The only time I used buses was where there was no train. Ie, North - South routes between Bromley and Erith sort of area.

I'd stop moaning about public transport and be grateful if I were you. Hell you could live in Norfolk!

[atomicdanny]

I think you would hate living where i live . Although i know during the week day (and Saturday, but not sunday) there is a bus service to the two local towns (well city and town - Canterbury and Dover) as well as an hourly train service to London and Dover (via Faversham - which is every 30 minutes during peak times on monday - friday). There are some villiages nearby though that only have one bus a day.

You could live at three oaks, they get about 2 trains a day and none on sundays! (no buses or anything else)

[Ameecher]

Ha, My village is gets the school bus (07:30) to the nearest town and the return that arrives at about 3:30. We do have the advantage of the railway which gets roughly a train every two hours from 6am to 10pm which is very good that's about a mile walk away. We are remarkably very well served. It's places like my mate's village which gets 1 bus per WEEK which runs on thursdays to the market in Fakenham at about 10 and returns at just after midday. Fat load of good to anyone wanting to go elsewhere. It's awful.

I reckon the best served transport corridor in Norfolk is Cromer to Sheringham with 3 bus companies and the railway competing for customers. Norfolk Green run hourly, as do First Eastern Counties and Sanders Coaches. The railway is hourly here too. Very useful and prices are cheap, especially with a school transport pass (FREE )

[Frankb88]

@ Ameercher & Atomicdanny:

Christ! I will stop my moaning now, i suppose in the areas you live you would be absoloutly lost without a car! But i suppose if there isnt a large enough demand, you just cant bring in more service.

Suppose the only gripe im actually allowed to still have is the fact that every day atleast one of the london lines are not operating at all or not operating propperly. tisk tisk, i think they need some of us to run things.

[athanasios]

A bit out of place, as I stay in Athens, but the point is: do you have transportation during night time?
Here last bus is at 11:40, so if you plan to go to a cinema or a theater Friday/Saturday night, better forget it.
At least they started running metro all night for an experimental period a few days ago. I hope it is profitable so they will not stop it. Some other suburbs have trolleys and buses on an hourly basis during night but for our area nothing. And metro station is 22 minutes walk (for a man) from my house. I hope the new station, that is near my house will open later this year. Even now 22 minutes walk are better than walking more than an hour (I did it a couple of times ) from the centre or taking a TAXI.

[Frankb88]

A bit out of place, as I stay in Athens, but the point is: do you have transportation during night time?
Here last bus is at 11:40, so if you plan to go to a cinema or a theater Friday/Saturday night, better forget it.
At least they started running metro all night for an experimental period a few days ago. I hope it is profitable so they will not stop it. Some other suburbs have trolleys and buses on an hourly basis during night but for our area nothing. And metro station is 22 minutes walk (for a man) from my house. I hope the new station, that is near my house will open later this year. Even now 22 minutes walk are better than walking more than an hour (I did it a couple of times ) from the centre or taking a TAXI.

Tube stations shut down at night! last train from oxford circus (the center of londons nightlife) is at about 12, afterthat your screwed and it means a cab, or night busses, what take FOREVER to get you home.
To be honest im not too bothered, cabs at night mean you miss all the inner city traffic and we usually fill up a cab so when we split the fare its not too bad at all pricewise. If your on your own or with one other person your pretty scvrewed though, the taxis will cost you a fortune. Make sure you get a mini cab, black cabs pull your pants down and F*ck you sideways.

[Badger]

Christ, if you're that unhappy move house!

[Frankb88]

Christ, if you're that unhappy move house!

Bah, i'd be unhappy where ever i went, face it, i suppose i have the best equiped transportation in the country and im still not happy with it!

[stupidestfool]

Frank mate I've gotta say as a life-long Londoner our transport system is pretty decent! The buses still aren't as regular as fifty years ago, but they're a damn sight better than before Ken came in and compared to other major cities (Leeds/Manchester/Cambridge) they're both cheap and reliable! I'm speaking mostly as an East Londoner, but I've been out and about in West a lot an never had any problems. Piccadilly line sometimes screws me over though, with the old bomb scares causing problems.

Also, night buses are really, really good! I've been a regular user of the N15, N8, N25 and the old N86 and almost always found them to get me home quicker than daytime routes involving overground or underground trains. Obviously common sense applies, don't be getting yourself into grief with crazy types, but I've always felt safe on the night buses.

[Kevo00]

Frankly, as somebody that grew up in Durham and now lives in London, I really can't see why there's any justification for complaining about the London transport system. Ok it gets busy at peak times, but at least you can always get on another bus etc. London transport is mostly at turn up and go intervals (apart from the GobLin ) and thats a darn sight better than a bus which turns up on a timetable every 20mins if your lucky.

[Griff]

I'm sure some of you are waiting for me to jump in here, but since most of y'all know what i think about London Transport and the Underground specifically I'll just leave..

[Parkey]

In my opinion the best thing about transport in London is that it's integrated and coordinated. Getting off one mode of transport and switching to another is made easy.

Very rare to see that kind of thinking in the rest of the UK.

[Dave]

The only good thing about London Transport are the intercity stations that take you away from the dump.

[Ameecher]

Better than that s*** hole of a place called Birmingham

[uktrackbuilder_loco]

A bit out of place, as I stay in Athens, but the point is: do you have transportation during night time?
Here last bus is at 11:40, so if you plan to go to a cinema or a theater Friday/Saturday night, better forget it.
At least they started running metro all night for an experimental period a few days ago. I hope it is profitable so they will not stop it. Some other suburbs have trolleys and buses on an hourly basis during night but for our area nothing. And metro station is 22 minutes walk (for a man) from my house. I hope the new station, that is near my house will open later this year. Even now 22 minutes walk are better than walking more than an hour (I did it a couple of times ) from the centre or taking a TAXI.

Tube stations shut down at night! last train from oxford circus (the center of londons nightlife) is at about 12, afterthat your screwed and it means a cab, or night busses, what take FOREVER to get you home.
To be honest im not too bothered, cabs at night mean you miss all the inner city traffic and we usually fill up a cab so when we split the fare its not too bad at all pricewise. If your on your own or with one other person your pretty scvrewed though, the taxis will cost you a fortune. Make sure you get a mini cab, black cabs pull your pants down and F*ck you sideways.

LOL London Underground and the co ordinated surface bus network beats anything outside of London, Bar maybe Newcastle, Sheffield or Manchester that are LUCKY enough to get a tram service that isn't offstreet and using a converted railway line. Most of the problems you moan about you are lucky to have. We get a daytime bus service that is hourly at best on most long distance routes with a half hourly service on urban services services are also mainly daytime in that they are 07.00-18.00 if that.
We are at the mercy of the mega groups with NO protection against service withdrawals its strictly dog eat dog out here no franchising/contracts only Council Support for social necessity.
Some area's get a twice weekly service and also mainly schoolbus services ( trying driving one if you want to really find out how s**t public transport can be. I've taken out a clean new double on a duty and after two routes brought back a s**thole full of debris!)

Yes London isn't perfect but you get clean NEW bus's on contracts that guarantee the operator revenue support encouraging them to properly train their staff and pay them good wages. We get old time expired heaps of crap that are into their second or third life and are frankly past it ( drive a few buts that by the by) and we get absolutely no guarantee that anything that is sparkling and new won't be moved on by a big group like First Group or Stagecoach after the 16% profit margins that the city investors expect them to make year on year out.
You want to know why regional services are so poor thats why simply the groups have to sweat their assets beyond a point where even cross subsidation makes no difference to the bottom line. All of that is to please the money men who back them and who's finance allowed the creation of those groups in the first place.
Ridley's vision under the Transport Act of 1985 was that outside London you'd have a series of small companies operating local services all competing against one another to provide and that they'd all look for a niche to fill late night, long distance, new vehicles etc.
Ridley actually fought against plans to allow the NBC at the time to be sold into three major groups, now we have groupings that are far larger than even he expected or the DoT even as the Mega Companies swallowed up not only NBC and SBG companies but independents and the council owned ones as well.

[Frankb88]

The only good thing about London Transport are the intercity stations that take you away from the dump.

I am under the impression from Ameechers reply that your a brummy? Would love to know how you could possibly say that about London being from that neck of the woods!!!

Ps. Uktrackbuilder: Wow you sound even more bitter than me. But in all honesty you made quite a few good points there. I suppose thats the problem with company run transportation services, your left at the mercy of there money men, its all about profit and not about the service.

After a few of your replies im starting to reconsider my view on Londons transportation!

[Bad Hair Day]

I agree with both Dave and Ameecher.