Comments on: Too Polite

By: Ermiyas

Ermiyas — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 00:05:39 +0000

Hi With the new bendy buses added to London roads, it is now quicker to go around London especially at rush out time. And the congestion charge in my view has reduced the traffic a bit. But cost of public transports have gone up(Last year a single bus journey wasÃ‚Â£1 now you would have to payÃ‚Â£1.50 that is 50p added I think that is a bit crazy considering the poor are the one that need the public transports.
Every time they bring new idea they just execute it without consulting the genuine user.

By: Dezik

Dezik — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 13:01:08 +0000

Pavvers, you have clearly hit upon everyone’s favourite subject: public transport. On my last trip to the Kingdom, an age ago, I took a number of trains between London and West Sussex. It’s a journey I’ve done on a squillion occasions, and the trains used to be those ones with the clunking doors that you couldn’t open from the inside – I once had to rescue a gaggle of confused American ladies, slightly embarrassedly asking, “Um, how do we get out?” – and which, when you entered, instantly had you walking on people’s feet. But now the trains seem to run pretty much okayly and they are colourful, modern ones with a depressed immigrant wheeling a trolley up and down offering expensive wares. And the tube and buses and those trains of no name that jolt around London – what used to be called British Rail, or Network South East, or something; I can still get lost in their maps for… minutes – all seemed pretty good to me. The prices are, of course, ludicrous, but at least if the service is much better, you don’t mind quite as much coughing it up.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 20:38:12 +0000

Your story about being too polite and being left behind reminded me of when that happened to me in NYC as well, only I asked a Jewish woman how to get off a bus in NYC. She said, simply, “Just say, GEDDING GOFF, GEDDING GOFF.

By: pdberger

pdberger — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:33:16 +0000

Erm, I am going to have to quibble, having lived in Hackney, Clapton and Surrey Quays. My bus journeys were always a nightmare. Not because of the buses but because of the traffic. I sometimes had to wait an hour for the 188 bus to even arive before my one hour journey to Russell Square. The same with the beloved No.38 from Lower Clapton. Although I have to admit the buses themselves were comfy and fun. I wonder whether congestion charging has improved the travel times…

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:16:40 +0000

London tubes are cleaner, the stations are infinitely prettier, and it has the best and clearest map in the world of transit systems. The NY subway, on the other hand, is more reliable, the carriages are bigger and the air-conditioning in the summer is a sweet blesssing. As an ex-Hackney resident, living miles from a tube stop, I’d like to mention how excellent London buses are. They run all night, are pretty reliable (as reliable as NY subways) and will get you to within two streets of anywhere for one solitary pound (or has that gone up no?), and no quibbling over zones.

By: pdberger

pdberger — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:51:58 +0000

Ermiyas, NYC has been “planning” on building a subway line down the east side of Manhattan since 1920.

By: Ermiyas

Ermiyas — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:21:41 +0000

I agree with you London is an old city the infrastructures does not allow to re-build new tunnels easily, where us if you go to DC it is easy to build new tunnels and lines. On the other hand there is too much bureaucracy which consumes a lot of time and money, for example they are trying to extend the east London line to West Croydon (South London) and Wimbledon (South West London) that project initially started more than 6-8 years ago but they have not started building yet.

By: Susan Williams

Susan Williams — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 13:54:09 +0000

I found the New York subway slightly confusing. Fortunately my boyfriend knew from experience so I mainly followed him.
What I did notice however, was the lack of signage, and staff. In London the tube stations have excellent informations boards and announcements all the time.
We also have lots of staff at stations to help people.
Nevertheless, I fell in love with NYC and can’t wait to come back!

By: pdberger

pdberger — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 03:42:04 +0000

Ermiyas, Of course I remember you. It seems to me that the problem in London is simple and yet unsolvable. You need bigger trains and bigger platforms. but that requires bigger tunnels which I assume is prohibitively expensive if not physically impossible.

By: Ermiyas

Ermiyas — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 03:01:43 +0000

Hi Paul,
This is Ermiyas due remember me (Re:George Galloway).
Anyway having visted Paris in Novemeber 2005 and New York 2004 I’m glad London has one of the best tube system in terms of cleaness and customer service. And I agree that you do have to wait at least 2-3 tubes before boarding on the train. I travel towards Heathrow four days a week from Brixton, what I tend to do is leave at least 30 minutes before, I was supposed to commence my travel to my destination.
On the final note, you get those type of people quite a lot of time, you being nice wait for the passengers to come-out after waiting for five minute, some people just push in and try and get a seat before you. I get realy mad with those kind of people they have no consideration at all. But after a while you learn to adapt to those kind of people, I don’t think it’s right but that is life.
Cheers Ermiyas from Brixton/London