London Transport

Much is written about public transport in London, both good and bad. I, myself, have written about my preference for buses rather than the tube system which is nothing to do with the quality of service. My preference is largely due to my long-term phobia of being underground. I am not knowingly scared of going underground and I do not have any specific fears of travelling on the tube but I do, nevertheless, have these mini-panic attacks so I simply prefer to use the bus whenever possible.

In my opinion, as a person who uses the London transport services on occasion rather than on a regular basis, Transport for London is doing a grand job. I really don’t have anything significant to complain about as a London visitor. Sure, the tubes can be crowded at rush hour but stand back from the crowd and wait for the next one! Let’s face it, if you’re on holiday or day-tripping then there’s really no need to put yourself through the “trauma” of travelling at rush hour. If you are staying in central London then try walking instead – you will see a lot more of London that way and you can always hop on a bus if your feet start to ache!

As part of the latest changes to London Ding Dong I’ve added a handy little tool on the bottom left of the page. I generally use the Transport for London journey planner to check routes and also to get an idea of how long my journey will take once I’ve arrived in London by train. You can request route plans to and from stations (mainline train and underground), specific postcodes, addresses and even places of interest which is particularly handy when you’re sightseeing. The results give you various route options and include all forms of public transport as well as any walking required. Maps are also provided if you need them. This is a really handy tool if you are visiting London and certainly takes the effort out of journey planning!

I think, when you are visiting a strange city, whether it’s in your own country or abroad, navigating the public transport system is one of the most challenging things. So do your research before you leave home and when you arrive in London you should find getting around London a little less daunting!

Travelling To Work In London

Last week I was working in London. After seven years of singing for a living in the Spanish sun, I returned to working as a voiceover artist in the UK at the end of last year. Recording in studios is not quite as glamorous as putting on my glad rags for a gig but the adrenaline still pumps and I still get a real sense of fulfilment. I guess I am one of life’s lucky people – I thoroughly enjoy the work I do.

The studios I’m sent to can be just about anywhere but recently I have had a string of bookings in London which is much easier for me to get to than somewhere like Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. Going to London for work is a totally different experience to a pleasure trip. More often than not, I am driven to the studio but, last week, luxury travel was replaced by regular train travel. When I’m going to work I worry that the train will be delayed and I’ll be late as, invariably, I leave home later than I plan. Often I don’t know what will be expected of me until I arrive at the studio so I am usually quite uptight during the journey. Silly things wind me up on a train journey to work; people talking noisily on mobile phones; people playing music too loudly on their iPods; people who stare; people who eat; people who share my carriage! Yes, I am Miss Grumpy Train Traveller 2008! Actually, I am most easily riled in the morning and the later I travel, the less irritated I seem to be. A direct correlation between early mornings and grumpiness methinks!

My slightly strange tube phobia is an extra drawback when I’m working in London. If I’m in town for some sightseeing and fun then I prefer to take my time and take the bus. I have grown to love these bus rides and wish it was a practical option every time. If I’m going to work then I have to face the tube head on as, time-wise, it is usually more predictable. But, of course, my stress levels rise when I’m down in the underground (actually, it starts as soon as I reach the ticket queues - pictured right). I try hard to keep calm but perpetually fail and resort to a shot of Rescue Remedy to settle my nerves. I dearly wish I could overcome this inexplicable tube phobia.

Another inexplicable thing is that, when I’m walking from the tube station to the studio, I rush. Last week I had no reason to rush. I had plenty of time to amble slowly along the street and enjoy the leafy London suburb. When I’m in London for pleasure I stroll from A to B - I certainly don’t rush - and am even learning to look around! Maybe when I’m on my way to work I feel the need to appear as though I’m in a hurry, that I mustn’t be stopped or delayed because I am on my way to somewhere or something important. I’m no psychologist, but it does make me wonder if I subconsciously induce this officious demeanour and cause myself to get all hot and bothered unnecessarily.

Anyway, I shall not dwell on these strange anomalies as, with any luck, I will be able to relax in a car again next time I have a voiceover job. Last weeks work was the conclusion of six months post-production on Dr Who and, whilst I cannot reveal what is left to come in this current series, I will say that the final few episodes are positively explosive! Come to think of it, I may have the answer to my travel tribulations… does anyone know where I can buy a Tardis?!

Alcohol Free London Transport

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago London’s new Mayor, Boris Johnson, promised to ban alcohol on public transport. Well, he has kept his promise and from Sunday 1^st June alcohol will no longer be allowed on buses, tubes, DLR and the multitude of stations across London.

According to various reports and statements from the Transport Police and Transport for London officials, anyone consuming alcohol will first be reminded of the new ban and will only be ejected if they refuse to heed the warning. It is good to know that there will not be a heavy-handed approach at first but with the huge number of posters on display warning travellers of the ban, there shouldn’t be any excuse.

Various groups have been set up on social networks encouraging people to “enjoy” one last night of drinking on the tube tomorrow. This seems like a pretty pointless exercise, intended for inane publicity rather than genuine protest. Let’s hope it doesn’t get out of hand. Personally, I can imagine nothing worse than getting drunk on the tube; packed in the carriage with too many strangers and a cacophony of unpleasant smells and alcohol fumes is not my idea of a good night out!

Anyway, I think BoJo should be congratulated on moving quickly with this particular election pledge. I don’t know anyone who relishes the prospect of sitting near someone on public transport with an open can of lager. They may well be harmless, but it is the uncertainty which is unsettling. I haven’t felt insecure travelling on public transport in recent months but any measures to help Londoners and visitors feel safe in the city has got to be a good thing.

Loving London Buses

Taking the bus in London has been quite an eye opener for me. Way back when I lived in London (it’s not that long ago but things have changed in eight years) the norm was hop on hop off buses with a segregated driver and a conductor to take your money or see your travel card. Not many of these buses exist now but they had their pros and cons. In those days you could run for a bus you’d missed and take a leap of faith onto the platform. If there were traffic jams, you could hop off and start walking. The conductors were a mix of over-the-top happy or miserable as sin but generally kept things ticking along nicely. Once, with a broken leg in plaster, I struggled to get onto the bus with my crutches only to be told by the conductor there was no room downstairs and I must make my way up to the top! Thankfully, a kind gentleman saved me from breaking my other leg and offered me his seat! There was a certain camaraderie when taking the bus though they were pretty dirty vehicles, rather ancient and prone to breaking down!

Nowadays, things are very different. I don’t know if this is the same throughout London or just in the areas I have visited (the City through to the West End) but now you can purchase your ticket or top up your Oyster Card at regular bus stops. In fact you are encouraged to do so as it keeps buses on schedule. Most buses are now conductor-free with the driver taking responsibility for everything. For the elderly, infirm or disabled many buses can be lowered for easy access (that would’ve been handy with a broken leg!) and wheelchair spaces are provided toward the front of the bus. These really are new buses for the people! One bus I went on announced each stop in advance so there’s no panic about where to alight. This is particularly handy for tourists and people like me who can’t contemplate travelling through London without an A-Z! Another bus didn’t have that particular feature but it did have a TV screen showing internet-style entertainment news and features! This was great except I missed my stop while reading a piece of London gossip!

So London buses have joined the 21^st Century with aplomb and really do make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable. There is another massive bonus if you take the bus: you see everything! Pictured right is the latest temporary art piece photographed from the bus at Trafalgar Square- something I probably wouldn’t have made a special trip to see (and the people in the foreground don't look overly impressed either!). You have a better idea where one attraction is in relation to another; the pieces of the London jigsaw fall into place and you get a greater sense of your surroundings.

London’s new Mayor, Boris Johnson (or Bojo as he is now being called!) is promising greater security on buses, banning eating and drinking (with particular reference to the consumption of alcohol), and introducing women-only night bus stops. I don’t doubt that these moves will be welcomed by the majority of Londoners as well as tourists. In the eight years I was living abroad, Ken Livingstone established a massively improved bus service and it seems that Bojo intends to continue this good work.

Apparently “bendy” buses are a bone of contention among Londoners but I have yet to experience one of those…

London Underground's Not For Me

Memory recall. It’s a strange thing and often hits at inopportune moments. Last week, as I stepped off the overhead train at Liverpool Street station and was heading towards the underground, I suddenly remembered that I don’t like travelling by tube! When you have your journey planned by train and tube this is not a good memory to conjure up!

The underground system is so much better than it used to be; it’s pretty clean and safe and, these days, it can even seem quite friendly! Of course, it can be a nightmare during rush hour and the crowds piling onto trains at Oxford Circus are unforgiving with their shopping bags. It is no fun being crushed together like sardines when it’s busy but, generally speaking, you succeed in getting from A to B. Besides, nobody would take the tube for fun would they?

One thing many tourists don’t realise is that the tube map bears no relation to the relative distances between stations. It’s possible to travel three or four stops, even change onto a different line, and only be a few minutes walk away from where you started. Walking up and down escalators, along never-ending tunnels, following the crowd ahead like a flock of sheep can, potentially, take longer than getting to your destination by foot! It’s a bit of a nonsense really.

Over the last few months I’ve wondered why I get so hot and bothered whenever I visit London. Sometimes I even arrive home with a headache from hell and wonder why when I’ve had a rather pleasant day out! Now I remember why I rarely used the tube when I lived in London and was often prepared to spend much longer above ground on London’s red buses. I think maybe I am tube-phobic (I looked up phobia names to see if this was covered but the nearest - Siderodromophobia - doesn’t work as I’m ok with normal trains).

From now on I will avoid London’s wonderful underground system when possible and allow a little longer for my journeys. I don’t intend to walk everywhere (heaven forbid!) but the bus will now be my first option for travelling within London. If you are using the London Pass with travel then be reassured that this option includes red London buses, Docklands Light Railway and overhead trains to Windsor as well as the underground through all zones.

Underground Music

Yesterday I went to London, unfortunately not for sightseeing or pleasure, but for work.

I jumped off the mainline train at Tottenham Hale and as I walked through the station towards the underground I could hear music all around me. At first I thought it must be one of the famous London buskers but soon realised it was a full blown orchestra! It took ages to work out where the music was coming from - it was being piped through an intercom system. Everyone was bustling along as usual, and nobody seemed to take much notice of the classical music presumably intended for their ears!

So today I did a quick search on the net for more information about London Underground music. I was curious to know why Transport for London is providing this unexpected but pleasant service. Is it to educate people or enhance their travelling experience? Well, it emerges that trials of playing classical music on the Underground started in 2003 and now extend to forty stations across the tube network. The original and official reason was to discourage anti-social behaviour. This makes sense but I have to say that the tube really seems to have cleaned its act up since I lived in London. It is a lot brighter and cleaner and, as a single woman travelling alone, I didn’t even feel vulnerable coming home late last night (yes I went for a few cheeky drinks after work!). Anyway, the powers that be now say that classical music is played simply to provide a more relaxing and calming environment for travellers in London and that “it is part of a package to improve the ambience of stations”.

I’m sure people will have their own views on the genre of music but I think it’s a lovely concept and suitably quirky for this diverse city. Don’t forget to listen out as you pass through the London Underground stations and see if you recognise your Beethoven from your Bach!

Incidentally, I have noticed that my big Ding Dong Discovery also offer travel cards when buying a London Pass. This includes use of all underground and overground trains within London zones 1-6, as well as regular red buses, the Docklands Light Railway and even the overground train to Windsor. This means that you could visit the Royal Albert Hall, look around the Cutty Sark exhibition or take the kids to London Zoo and then travel outside London by train to see the Queen’s other home - Windsor Castle. Pretty impressive! If you are going to London on holiday and buy a six day London Pass you get a seventh day of travel for free which is a great bonus for tourists who want to spend their last day shopping for bargains and souvenirs! If this all sounds a bit complicated then have a look at http://londonpass.com/index.asp?aid=163 where they explain it much better than me!

If music be the food of London Underground… Play on!