Ewan's Musings

Getting Around London

So the London Undergroudn threw a hissy fit at the commuters last night, with a couple of lines deciding to close down. One of them being the Victoria Line, which I use to get home. With it not running, it becomes a bit like "The Running Man," fighting to get home. So here's my handy hints and tips on getting round London when half of it isn't working.

The first thing is to keep yourself informed. You might think tha means asking the staff at the tube station (and you'd be right), but once you're on your way, you still need to watch what is happening - If you're lucky, the system will start up again and you can get back Underground.

So get out your Wap Browser on your mobile phone and point it at http://www.lu.tflwap.gov.uk/ltu/wml/news.jsp, which gives you news on stations and lines. A lot of the time you'll find this is more accurate than the Station Info.

The second thing, is always keep moving. Don't sit around waiing for a station to re-open unless you know for sure it'll happen in the next few minutes. You know where you want to end up, and much as we joke about it, London does have (a bit of) an interated system. Don't be afraid to catch buses, jump on trains to the main stations, or use the ultimate London tool.

Walking.

The easiest way around trouble is to take another tube line. The chances are you can get within two or three stops of where you're going via another line, and although the Tube is a massive sprawling system, most stations are at most 10 minutes walk from each other.

So chuck a mini A to Z in your bag, work out the next best line, and start walking.

Of course, you might suddenly work out somethign as your moving. Such as a Bus ide to get to the next stop, (or to leap frog to part of the line when half of it re-opens), or a million and one other things. Don;t be afraid to change your plan

So, in summary...
1. Keep yourself informed.
2. Keep moving.
3. Walking is a vital weapon.
4. Be prepared to change plans.

And finally, if you are plannign to jump in front of a tube train, please don;t do it in Rush Hour. The trains move just as fast in the off peak hours.

Posted by Ewan at August 8, 2003 11:15 AM