American reacts to the Amazing London "Tube" system and public transport
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ต.ค. 2024
- Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to London public transport
Original video: • Why London Is Insanely...
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"Do you have to pay more to sit upstairs?" is one of the most American questions ever 🤣🤣
You should check out the private US rail company Brightline, who’s connecting big cities in the US with high speed rail, runnning along the interstate highways. High speed rail is the perfect option for journeys that are too far to drive, but too short to fly, and high speed rail lines here in Europe have literally killed airlines, or taken over like 80% of the customers. Brightline currently connects Miami and Orlando, so try them out if you ever visit either city, but they’re a bit pricey, cause they’re not a commutter service. And they’re starting construction on a line between southern california and las vegas early 2024, which will be ready for the 2028 olympics in LA, travelling at 186+mph.
So relatable
If you don't mind spending time with teenagers, you can ride the top of a double Decker bus. They are used in multiple towns and Cities here in the UK and one service that I use, travels from Salisbury in Wiltshire, which is close to Stonehenge, through 3 counties to Bournemouth on the south coast, which has the distinction of being where Mary Shelley, the Author of Frankenstein, is buried.
Talking about a nation that charges for you to hold the baby you just delivered.. enough said! 😂
@@MadDragon-lb7qgAh, another fan of the good old X3, I see… I used to love riding that bus back when I lived down in Poole… The X1/X2 are great routes, too, the ones going to Lymington.
And if you really want a terrifying ride, I suggest sitting in the very front of the top deck if they decide to use a double decker on the 122 from Lymington to Hythe Ferry… After a few minutes you’ll stop counting the branches smashing into that top windscreen!
As a teen in London who’s also been to the US a lot it’s such a culture shock flying over and realising that I have to ask for rides to get anywhere. In London I can basically get to anywhere I want to for less than 1 USD and I can walk places and buses and trams are free for me as well
The Underground is actually really simple to use. I don't understand how people find it difficult.
Wholeheartedly agree
Its just about knoqing which line to use & understanding which trains belong to which lines. Its easy once touve used it a few times
Whilst having lived in London for over 50 years I can understand why to some visitors it may appear a little confusing. You need to remember that the station name does not necessarily equate to where geographically you want to go. It also helps if you know if you want to go Northbound, Westbound etc and where you are in relation to the Thames. There is an amusing TH-cam video of some tourists wanting to go to Abbey Road studios ( and the famous zebra crossing) , only to go to Abbey Road on the DLR .
@@peterjones6640dutchie here and I did not find it difficult when I was in London.
I think anyone who is used to even much smaller systems will have little problems in London. But if you have never ever seen a passenger train up close I can see how it would be intimidating.
I never realised how crazy it was that the tube’s frequency was such an unusual statistic. It just seems so natural to have the underground train network run as often as possible
Even in the UK, if you live outside of London you will find the frequency of London Buses and Tubes incredible!
you should look at the northern line. It splits both north of Camden Town and in the "Central London" area, only to rejoin down south at Kennington /Oval. Sure there's delays but that doesn't often change the frequency, in fact they can make up lost time somehow.
Does the tube finally drive during the night?
Yes but only Fridays and Saturdays and not on all lines. London has an all night bus service which is gaining more routes every year. @@peter_meyer
@@peter_meyer on Friday and Saturday nights only some lines run
Years ago when I was an Au Pair in London I frequently tested how easy the transport system was to use. On my days off I used to just start walking from any tube station and explore that area - I never got lost because I would always find another tube station! That made my explorations a lot better and safer, because I honestly did not have to know exactly where I was all the time! :)
I moved to London 14 years ago and I did the same thing. You are ALWAYS near a tube station and if you couldn't see one, look at any bus timetable and see how far away from one you are and catch a bus to it... I still do. All this time, there is ALWAYS something new to see.
He's right to be impressed by the Victoria line. It's phenomenal, every single time I use it I can just turn up at the platform and expect a train to arrive almost instantly
Yet you still see people running for it lol. Which is kind of crazy to me. You must be running super late where waiting another minute and a half is a problem!
@@TalesOfWarsometimes the seconds count when you’re trying to make a train connection at Vauxhall 😂
@@TalesOfWarI still don’t get why people run 😂😂
As a tourist who travelled in London +10 times in my life, the London Underground is second to none.
Londoners might think this is very weird, but I kind of miss it, like one would miss a tourist attraction 😂
As a Londoner, I don't think it's weird that you miss it. The tube is very cool and useful 👌
I’m a Londoner and don’t think it’s weird at all. I love our Underground system, and I’m quite proud of it… it’s efficient, iconic and it’s the oldest in the world.
Go to Tokyo then see how you feel about it! 😂
As a londoner, i gotta say the tube system is probably one of the best in the western world, but it doesn't come close to the much more modern ones in east asia.
@@joestasitunesTrue but the Piccadilly line was about a million degrees yesterday. 😊
The comment at the end stating London was not designed for cars is a big factor in my many people walk, cycle or use public transport. Driving in central London is not for the faint hearted, as dealing with the narrow streets, dense traffic and pedestrians coming from all directions can be exhausting, then there is the challenge of finding somewhere to park as spaces are limited and expensive. Tip: If you have to drive a car to London park outside the congestion zone and use public transport, if you have to go into the centre book a space in advance.
Lol finding parking your side the congestion zone is like looking for a needle in a haystack 😅
I drove in London several times and it was fun compared with Mumbai, Rome and Paris.
Agree, Had to drive across Paris, once was enough.
it's what happens when you try and put modern day cars in Roman-built cities :D (but yea no i want to continue living so i'm not putting myself through driving in London)
Double decker buses are common all over the UK not just London. You don't pay extra to go on top. Upstairs at the front is great
Until they re-route via a low bridge?
@@wessexdruid7598 In such a case immediate transfer to the ground section is guaranteed.
@@wessexdruid7598 Ah, yrs but you could see that coming. I was upstairs once on an icy morning, and the bus did some scary skidding. Good fun though.
@@Lily-Bravo Sadly, not everyone has.
@@wessexdruid7598 That is true,
Yes , Ryan, cars pollute the air with fumes and it's a massive problem as well as too much traffic congestion
I agree, the ULEZ expansion was a positive move
Absolute rubbish.
@@zo7034it’s a power and money grab by the egregious Khan, nothing more.
whereas the underground is 20 points above safe level
@@gv7217I live in a ULEZ area, am asthmatic and have eyesight problems so do not drive. For me it's a brilliant development. People are more important than cars. Before I lived in near Oxford Street, my quality of life improved when congestion charging came in.
As a European not from London, I only got to use this system around 4 times so far. It may look intimidating, but it's not as complicated as it looks, even if you're using it for the first time. You just have to find where you want to go, and draw the line... then you stop to hop on the next ride where the lines intersect. They are so frequent, you don't have to worry about anything else (just don't fall asleep... but as a tourist I doubt you would as you have to be quick to hop off).
Doesn't google maps recognise the tube? Never understood why you would look at a massive map when you can just look up what line to take and when to get off.
@@Ruzzky_Bly4t yes, but my point is that the map is easy to understand.
At times like that, the Circle Line is your friend.....
@@Ruzzky_Bly4t google maps itself can work but the TFL GO app is much much better and works on the underground somehow.
@@tacfoley4443 Not any more! It now terminates at Edgware Road and Hammersmith.
If you wanted to get quickly from St Paul's Cathedral to the Tate Modern Art Gallery (separated by the River Thames), the fastest way is to walk across the Millennial Bridge. You are there is under 10 mins. So walking, sometimes, is the quickest option.
Just to be clear, that congestion charge zone is only in the very centre of London, and 99.9% of people ever need to drive through that area. I lived there for 21 years and never once needed to pay the congestion charge.
Not any more.
@@michaeltb1358 Congestion charge is the same area, only ULEZ has expanded
@@michaeltb1358 Congestion charge zone hasn't changed (it was expanded briefly a few years ago but reverted to the original area). ULEZ emission charging is a whole different thing though.Although that only applies to non-compliant vehicles. Like mine unfortunately :(
@@michaeltb1358 The congestion charge zone hasn't changed. What has now come in _as well_ is the ULEZ (ultra low emissions zone), which initially just covered central London but has now expanded to cover the whole of London. However, very few people need to pay it - it only applies to petrol vehicles built before about 2005, and diesel vehicles built before about 2015, which account for less than 10% of the traffic in London.
@@stevieinselby And a Ulez compliant car can be bought for less than £1k
That sounds like a lot but few road legal cars cost any less.
Looking at the whole map is indeed intimidating but that's because it's huge. Once you're at a subway station, it's actually very easy to find your way. You just need to look at a map, it will show you where you are and you need to see what line (or what colour) takes you to where you need to go. Then you need to know on which side of the tracks you need to take the subway train. To know that, you need to look at the last station, where that line (colour) ends and then follow the sign that says the name of that station. Inside the subway train, you will see all the stations, so what I often do is to count how many stations there are between where I am and where I need to get out, so that I don't have to constantly pay attention at where I'm at.
There are trains that don't run the full line. So you'll have to pay more attention not to miss an oppurtunity.
And there are apps - like the TfL one - where you just input where you are and where you want to go and they will tell you exactly which steps to take to get to your destination, taking into account any delays there may be on any particular line, And they offer options in case you want to just walk or just go by bus or whatever. You hardly need to think in order to get from A to B.
Have you seen a map of the Tokyo subway and overground services? It's like the tube map on steroids, but was similarly nice and easy to navigate! 😊
its not intimidating its a map
All trains have an announcer and/ or a digital display that tells you the next stop so you don't even need to look out the window or count stops.
Being over 60 years old in London I get a Freedom Pass from my local Borough council which gives me free access to all public transport in London .... tube, overground, buses, DLR, even the passenger boats on the river which the video didn't mention. Also includes free bus travel in every other town and city in the UK as a bonus !
Free buses only in England. Still a great benefit
Freedom Pass issued by other cities only get to use London buses for free. They have to pay for everything else.
@@marksimons8861That's why its NOT called or referred to as a Freedom Pass anywhere else in England. It's simply called a 'bus pass'.
@@michaeltb1358vivo en Madrid y tengo como persona de edad el transporte gratis. Se está negociando para ampliar la gratuidad a los jóvenes
passenger boats on the river aren't free with a freedom pass. It's half price.
As we are of retirement age, we get a pass for free travel on local buses for the whole of England (not Wales & Scotland). When we go to London, we tend to use buses, as they are free, and upstairs you can see so much, including where you are and all the landmarks that you know are in London somewhere. The tube is so easy, and quicker, but you don’t get to understand ‘place’; you go down one hole and come up another. The other beauty of all London Transport is that you can just put your Dr/Cr card or your Apple phone to the reader entering and leaving the system and get charged a reduced fare.
If you were in London and over 60 you would have free travel on all buses, tubes, trams,DLR at all times and National Rail within Greater London outside the morning rush hour. If you were in Scotland and over 60 you woud have free access to all buses, nationwide, at all times - including inter-city and tourist buses.
@@stevemichael8458 Certainly outside London in England you get your bus pass at the time you start your state pension, which is going up over time as the pension age starts later, and men may be different from women. It’s in the area of 66 or 67 years of age at the moment, or similar. In England, the pass cannot be used on trams as these are not stage services, unless the operator allows their use, and I don’t know of any who do (I can’t speak for Croydon). My understanding is I can’t use my pass on the Tube, but should pay with my Cr/Dr card. Same for DLR I would think. I don’t know how they work it in Scotland, as my pass is English. It can be used on the Leeds to Whitby service, for example, as it is Stage Carriage, but not on tourist coaches or the Sight-Seeing hop on/hop off services you find in many cities.
@@michaels640 As a 60+ year old resident of Greater London I get unlimited free access to all TFL services (except the Cable Car & River Buses - although I get a discount on these) between 0900 & 0400 Monday to Friday, and any time at weekends. I also get free access to any National Rail services within the Greater London Area but the times are slightly different (0930 instead of 0900).
I have 60 year old friends who live less than a mile from the London boundary and they get no free access to these services.
For all residents of England over 67 years old all local buses in England are free, but they don't get free travel on the other London services which I do. There are reciprocal arrangements with Wales & Scotland but the terms are slightly different.
Merseyside is the only other English authority outside London that issues a senior pass at 60 for travel within the Merseyside area, which is quite extensive. It's valid on bus, train and the Mersey ferry.
It's also valid beyond Merseyside on Merseyrail's 3rd rail system into Cheshire (Chester and Ellesmere Port) and Lancashire (Ormskirk). It's also valid on other rail operators within the Merseyside boundary out of Liverpool Lime Street mainline station, or with Transport for Wales on the Merseyside section of the Bidston to Wrexham line.
Authorities in Wales and Scotland operate differently.
This is why I like elevated rail. It’s also cheaper than underground and can mean easier to get to it as underground tunnels can be very far down in the ground.
67 years old and never owned a car , simply because I was born in London.
As an American who's been to London several times and used the tube exclusively to get around, I can say it's extremely well designed, and fairly easy to navigate. Unlike in the US where everything routes through a downtown, the tube has cross connections to allow people visiting other people instead of businesses a way to get around. I wish more American cities would take this kind of approach to public transport.
The main reason that the majority of people lived on the north side of the river was because you need bridges or boats to get across the river, which takes time and costs money.
Bridges used to (and still are sometimes) be privately built and owned, and you'd have to pay a fare to cross them depending on what you wanted to take over (so that the builders could make back their investment and make a healthy profit afterwards). You used to also have to pay for roads (and still do in loads of places in Europe) for a similar reason.
This meant that in London if you lived between 1209 and 1729 if you wanted to cross the river you had to use the one bridge which crossed in London, which was called London Bridge (because we're good at names), or you had to pay someone to row you across, or you had to walk the approximately 15 miles to Kingston bridge, the next-nearest bridge upstream (where the Thames was narrow enough to allow easier crossings) and then walk the 18-20 miles back to wherever it was you wanted to go (the river there is shaped like a very bendy L on it's front (with the short piece downwards) so on the south side you could go mostly straight but on the north side you have to go around the long way). This would take you 2 days or so since you weren't doing it on a nice smooth road.
There was no other way across, which meant that you lived on the north side if you didn't have enough money for regular crossings. In addition to the above the old London bridge was so congested that it would take you a couple of hours to get over the bridge what with all the carts and stalls and shops and people buying things and going in and out of the houses built up on the bridge (check out an image of it, it's really something!) which were rented out to make the bridge owners more money again.
The other factor was work. A lot of people back then worked for themselves, or worked in a small organisation if they were skilled like a clerk (who kept books or accounts or ledgers etc and knew how to read and write). These people generally worked and lived in and above their shops, and in order to get the traffic of people passing by or needing their services they had to live locally to that traffic.
If you worked in a factory or warehouse or dock (which was common employment in London, it was the UK's largest port until the 1960s and container ships did away with the docks between the 60s and 80s) then you wanted to live close to them so you could get employment for the day (and turn up on time). Lots of places like the docks had a day-work system where they only took on the number of people they needed for the day's work (this was based on what ships were in needing loading or unloading) and if you weren't at the gates and at the front of the crowd when they handed out that day's work tokens then you went hungry, so you lived close. Factories were a bit more stable in terms of having a steady job but you could be dismissed easily for being late so again best to live close.
This led to slum housing and cramped conditions near the sites of work, and shops everywhere so that the workers or their families could buy what they needed whilst going about their business. And very little of this featured south of the river, which remained as farmland for ages until population pressure and a more public minded government allowed the construction of more bridges starting in 1729 (because goods were being held up crossing the river too long because of congestion) which people could then take advantage of to live south of the river (but only just next to it).
Until the 1880s and into the 1920s London remained congested and cramped in the centre before the advent of public transportation networks (the underground railways, buses which everyone could afford, trams etc) allowed housing for the more well off to be built into the fields around London, forming suburbs which then fed the underground with new passengers who were usually quite well off (the underground lines actually built and sold loads of houses but that's a topic for another time, they were privately owned then) and this led to a relaxation of pressure in the centre to the point where all the jobbing tradespeople and slightly-less-well-off people could afford to move out of the overcrowded centre too into where the rich and middle class people used to live (they lived in the outskirts to the west mainly) so London as it is today was formed as people migrated around.
6:43 - _There must not be that much traffic there._
As a Londoner, that comment will have me laughing hysterically for the rest of the day, whilst occasionally crying as I remember the reason I'm laughing.
Yes. That had me cackling.
That map/diagram indeed is a modern icon!
Just a suggestion; perhaps check out a conveniently short clip about Harry Beck, who designed this masterpiece. It's called 'The Tube Map nearly looked very different', by the excellent map-enthusiast Jay Foreman.
Public transport in UK cities is generally quite good. Public transport in rural UK is a different matter, my rural scottish hometown was lucky enough to be the last train station on the line, so there was at least one ride an hour (until 10pm, after that forget it) and a few buses. But like I said, we were lucky. Your description of transport in your area sounds very familiar to me.
Fun fact. The "public subway" signs for the Underground actually refer to a tunnel under the road that links to the station, not the actual Underground itself. A subway in the UK is a tunnel under a road for pedestrians, not a metro system (the name of which originates from the Metropolitan Railway who built the first underground railway).
During construction of the Tube in north London, geologists were able to determine the southernmost extent of ice coverage In London In the last ice age which finished 8000 years ago,
As an East Ender I regularly use the DLR, it is fantastic. It is smooth, frequent and managed from a computer system, no drivers but also has a person on every train to address issues
Also the most reliable and cleanest service.
Thank you for adding that there is a person to address issues as people love claiming it's driverless so politicians can justify closing train stations/cutting staff
@@philwill0123 driverless, not unmanned.
I've always admired London's public transportation system, and the way they take so many measures to limit car use in the centre. I'm sure it can be a bit frustrating for some locals, but the overall outcome for the majority of people is inarguably better.
Locals mostly don't bother with cars, because public transport is satisfactory. If you are tied to car use, you move to somewhere greener and less built up. During night time hours, we can afford to use cabs and taxi's due to rhe ton of money we save without a car.
@@monkeymox2544 The central area of London where people mainly go is much smaller than most people think. If I get a rental bike, I can get almost anywhere in 20 minutes. Walking is really feasible in the centre too
11:22 [walking] 'foreign concept for me.' honestly, although walking within the city has never been that unusual for me the amount I walked while in London still beats it all. I was amazed by the speed my shoe soles got used up and needed repairs. not just in London, in Edinburgh too. I ended up telling the cobbler to attach *small brass plates* on both ends of my soles in order to significantly slow down the need to pay him a visit again. the unavoidable _clacking sound_ that comes with it is omnipresent in London and Edinburgh but not so much elsewhere
I went to visit my son for the weekend, and by the end I had to pad my boots out with paper towels as my feet had broken through!
Indeed...! One of the reasons why the US has an overwhelming responsibility for climate change....
We decided to walk a short distance instead of go up and down all the tube escalators, and we found the tiny original twinings shop!
And note that is the 'Chewb', not 'Toob'.
Also it's the 'tems' and not 'tames'
London also has riverbus services with many stops along the River Thames, and of course the iconic London Black Taxicabs where the drivers have to take and pass a very extensive test called 'The Knowledge' where they have to know the streets of London like the back of their hand, and also where all the major hotels, embassies, and places of interest are too, before being issued with a taxi drivers licence.
Ryan, almost every city in the UK has double-deck buses, which are also used on some long cross-country routes too. Blackpool has even preserved a number of streamlined double-deck trams from the 1930s and, as long as you didn't have to book in advance and reserve a specific seat, it's normally first-come, first-served - save for a few seats and spaces downstairs that have to be given up if a less able person needs to sit down. So, come to the UK with your family and with the correct tickets, you can ride around upstairs all day, if you want to! The Central London Congestion Zone - inside of which you must pay to use a private car - isn't only about reducing congestion and speeding up bus services by making more road space available - there is also an environmental factor that is as much about preserving buildings as the atmosphere itself. And you're right, there's rarely any need to plan when you want to travel as most tube lines and bus routes run every few minutes - so you simply turn up at the station or stop of your choice with your chosen ticket, and go...!
Learning all this information as a citizen of Moscow brings a smile to my face. Moscow public transport system is just as efficient and in many cases even more efficient yet people take it for granted. Seeing you being so shocked by something that is just routine for me and my fello citizens is very fascinating. Makes you appreciate the work of the city services.
I like the shops and eateries attached to the central Moscow Metro. Absolutely brilliant
@@stephenlitten1789 oh yeah when you leave a huge mall and enter a subway station is gorgeous. And now one of the line actually reached the airport so there's no need to pay a fortune to taxi drivers you just hop on the metro and for the same price as usual you get from the airport to your hotel or any other part of the city.
Plus, you guys have - IMO - probably the most beautiful metro stations in the world. I envy you! 🙂
When I lived in London I preferred the bus over the Tube, for the views. Living in Hackney was probably the second reason. Not easy access to tube 20 years ago.
Slightly easier now with a new overground line through parts of Hackney and more frequent trains to Stratford. Got a lot better after the Olympics.
@@Jello836 Yeah, agree, but it's still kinda the middle of nowhere though!
I agree about Hackney 🚇
The London Tube is very easy to use, with good signposting and automated announcements on the trains at every station announcing the station name, connecting lines etc. All the map apps, Apple, Google and the Citymapper App which is especially for London make it all even easier.
The video doesn’t mention the River Bus along the Thames. Which is a great way to see London from a different point of view
This video clip is a few years old,and pre-dates the Elizabeth Line.The Lizzie line cuts the time and shortens journeys and reaches destinations that took longer to get to,...so much easier
Do you have to pay more to sit on the top floor of a bus?
No you don’t have to pay extra!
The price will be the same whether you sit on the top or bottom.
People who are fit and active usually sit on the top deck.
The bottom deck is usually used by older people, people in a wheelchair or with a ‘stroller’. 😊
Also on the DLR, as there is no driver, you can sit in the front and pretend to drive - kids love it. They are not the only ones :D
As a born n bred Londoner who grew up using many of these, it's just such a normal part of how u live here- I haven't even owned a car for over 20 years! I even remember when a kid's bus ticket was only 15 pence (20 cents). And our buses go everywhere- honestly, some of them have routes round town you would not believe.
As a Filipino, I have our former American colonizers and politicians to blame for making my country adopt to the American ways of transportation. Cars still are the main way to travel. The metro system is crap and buses are too. We must learn to adopt the system used the world over - which is a well-oiled metro/rail system, disincentivizing the use of cars, and putting up a bus rapid transit system. When I am in Singapore or Bangkok, I can walk 25,000 steps a day easy. In Manila, 10,000 steps daily is difficult unless you purposely jog.
A subway system is a must in all cities. Taka a look at the Stockholm subways, every station has art. You can go around the city and look at the biggest exhibition in the world.
I live in the suburbs of Greater London (about 12 miles from central London). I can walk 5 minutes to my nearest tube stop and not wait more than 5-6 minutes for a tube that gets me into central London in less than 30 minutes.
You can indeed pre purchase weekly, monthly or year travel passes but many people simply use their credit card as TFL is good at working out if you reach the daily travel cap for all transport or just buses.
National rail is run and managed by privately franchised companies, running on publicly owned and managed tracks. Underground, Overground, Trams and DLR are fully owned and managed by publicly owned TFL. The buses are also owned by private companies but are managed by TFL.
It's the same in Vienna where I lived for 38 years. My family didn't own a car but you could go everywhere by public transport. I've been riding the "U-Bahn" my whole life, so when I went to London for a short vacation I had no trouble understanding the Underground system.
The underground map was inspired when an engineer saw a circuit board and thought the layout would transfer
The immortal Harry Beck. He made countless updates and revisions to his design as the network evolved, was essentially an amateur consultant who was never properly rewarded for his work, and not officially recognized until shortly before his death. Pretty much every urban railway map in the world is based on the circuit-diagram principles of his designs and he now has the recognition he deserved in life. I am proud to own a hand-drawn draft of a discarded design he developed to incorporate the new Victoria Line into the map in the mid 1960s. The LT museum made several offers to buy it from me years ago, but they're going to have to wait for me to die... it's in an airtight glass frame so it's safe and I've willed it to the museum. They have several other Beck originals so it's not like I'm depriving them of anything truly unique and they'll get it eventually.
Tube lines were rare south of the Thames because the ground is gravel and therefore not great to bore tunnels through it. North of the Thames it is clay which is great for tunnelling. The first suburban line in London was in fact south of the river built from London Bridge to Greenwich and opened in 1836. It was though built on a very long set of brick arches which are still in use.
The trains are also integrated into the electronic ticketing system. Just 'tap in' with your card at the barrier as you enter a station, then use any suburban trains, tubes, Overground trains or trams - or combination of these - and then 'tap out' as you leave. All charged and calculated including daily price caps. Couldn't be simpler. Better still, for Londoners over 60 like me it's free!
"Couldn't be simpler." sure it can. Here you don't have to tap in or tap out at all ...
Where's that?!@@EnjoyFirefighting
@LostsTVandRadio like all across Germany for example, in every public transportation network they have
Ah yes. That's true - though on the other hand it took me ages lining up at Berlin airport just to buy a ticket to use the bus and the U-Bahn for the day.@@EnjoyFirefighting
@@LostsTVandRadio never been at their new airport. Many important stations have both ticket counters and ticket machines - not just one or two of them. Apart from that you also have the option to buy it online / per mobile app, and some trains even offer the option to buy the ticket on board of the train, just like it's normal on busses and trams
TFL is what is called a "Quango" which a semi-public administrative body outside the civil service but receiving financial support from the government.
Quasi Autonomous Non Governmental Organisation. 😀
As an tourist who has been in london only for 5days. I found the whole public transportation very simple and easy to use.
Paris has also an outstanding network of public transportation! We in Madrid are the 3rd metropolitan area and also the 3rd longest subway network in Europe: 13 lines, 303 stations, 310 km
In the context of this, it is sad that HS2 has become HS1.4, which is still more expensive than the new maglev line in Japan.
I've heard people say for years that it is harder to put underground lines in South London. But I think people forget that the City & South London Railway was the first railway in London to build a deep level tube line and they built their line from Stockwell in South London to King William Street just slightly north of The Thames in North London.
And the first extension of the City & South London Railway was from Stockwell, further south to Clapham Common. So, not only is it possible to tunnel in South London, it's literally the first thing London ever did that eventually got absorbed into London Underground.
I believe the reasons for other Underground lines not being built into South London are political ones. The extension of the Bakerloo Line into South East London was first suggested in 1913 and there have been more than twenty formal proposals that have failed to go ahead.
The Victoria Line was a revival of a 1949 plan to build a railway from Finsbury to Croydon. But the plan was cut back to Victoria and then extended south of the Thames to Brixton and left at that.
2:27 in berlin you can take a ride like this through the subway system. it is a guided tour. have not taken it, but it looks super fun! you can put it on your todo list.
The London Underground is brilliant. It is the easiest way to get around and although the map looks confusing at first I have always found it really easy to use. There is usually a Tube station within a few minutes walk of major tourist attractions and I’ve never got lost in London.
Wow! As someone born and raised in Europe, it didn't occur to me how weird this must be for someone from the US! Growing up in Vienna with amazing and very cheap public transport I complain about TFL and national rail sometimes lol! It can get expensive and there can be a lot of delays and strikes. I am very appreciative though when I see it from your view point!
I love the reaction to having to pay the congestion charge in Central London. There's basically no reason to drive there as there is very little parking, and if you do find parking it will make the congestion charge look like pocket change. Tube is cheaper and much, much faster than driving anywhere in the zone.
You can drive in downtown London, if you don't mind it taking four times as long to get there, paying $17 for the Congestion Charge and up to $40 a day for parking. After London started regularly grinding to a halt from gridlock, a clear message was sent, "If you don't need to have your car downtown, don't take it there. Use public transportation."
Debit & credit contactless cards are mainly used now to pay for journeys on all Transport for London routes.
You don't pay extra for riding on the top of a London bus and it's brilliant! Except between the hours of 3pm and 4pm when it becomes the domain of London school children or as I call it - the Ninth Circle of Hell!😂
Hey 29 Bus coming out of the station at Wood Green! Whootwhoo!! Any older Brits who remember On The Buses, the station for that was on the road to the left, Lordship Lane, green buses - used to be able to get a bus to Southend from there as I recall...Now of course there's a block of flats there...
3:20 This is how the Metro works in Denmark as well. Though not as effecient. There's a new train every 180 seconds here.
I'm from London and absolutely loved the metro in Denmark
Harry Beck designed the first map of the London Underground rail network on a schematic not a geographic layout pattern, for legibility and simplicity. It was effectively a diagram like you'd find for an electronic circuit board. This was appropriate given the rail system was in fact itself an electrical system.
Whenever I've been in London I just head for the nearest Underground station and wait for the next train. Never any worry about getting lost, there's always a station within walking distance, and once you're there you can see exactly your route to where you want to go.
Its not really difficult to use in practice. Once inside the station you begin with there are maps on the walls, colour-coded signs (each line is a different colour) showing you which way to walk, signs above the escalators etc, so its hard to get it wrong for the platform you need. So if you say, wanted to go from Tottenham Court Road to Embankment, you'd choose the black coloured Northern Line and you'd take a southbound train, north bound would take you in the opposite direction. Trains are very frequent and there are maps on board above the seating to show you the line you are on from one end to the other. Intersecting stations show the colours of other lines they meet with so you can figure out where to change. I like riding the newer 'open plan' trains where the carriages don't have gaps like in older models, they've got big flexible 'hinges' so you can see down the whole train. Its a trippy effect when they snake around bends. The best way of learning is of course, to come visit & use it.
I grew up riding the Tube - we lived in Neasden which is on the Jubilee line. 2 min walk to the station, 20min ride to the west end (Bond St). U can rock up at any time an wait about 3 mins for the next train. It’s a fantastic service, with many lines intersecting so you can get to almost any area by changing lines at stations such as Baker St where several lines feed into one station.
There are also Night buses which are quite an experience! Lol. V handy after a night out in clubs, going home on the night bus watching the sun come up…
Hi Ryan,
Do you have Toll Roads in the States? Yes
Do you consider those Tolls to be a Tax? No
Then why is a Toll on using the roads in a small area of London, a Tax, rather than a Toll?
It's called the 'Congestion Charge'. As is obvious, you do not need to take a private car into central London.
@@Caambrinus call it what you want, it's literally a toll fee. They apply the same way and it's name is just very brittish when it comes to naming. The underground not being called a Metro is a uniquley (almost) brittish thing.
@@JohanHultin Because it existed before any Metros?
@@wessexdruid7598 Yes. Similar systems are called metros in other UK cities, where they exist!
@@JohanHultin Tolls are charged for road usage; the Congestion Charge is levied to encourage, er, not using the road.
I lived & worked in London during the 1970s & even then the congestion in Central London made car/taxi driving insanely expensive due to delays & of course waiting vehicles emit noxious fumes. The Public transport system is the main reason that the infamous & often deadly London fog has been consigned to history. IMO.
Outside London public transport is run by private companies and is not well joined up as a result. One thing not mentioned is there is not much parking in London and it is very very expensive, typically $5 per hour, up to $9 per hour in some areas - and that's if you can find a space. A lot of Londoners (particularly younger generation) have not bothered to learn to drive. (BTW Drivers Ed does not exist in UK schools (which kids leave at 16) and you can only begin learning to drive at 17 and have to pay for private lessons - typically costs about $2000 to get your licence). Outside London and a few other major cities a car or motorbike really is needed.
Tyne and Wear is pretty joined up, needs expanding but metro, some buses and ferry all come under Nexus PTE.
As someone else mentioned below, dont forget that a lot of the tube stations are interchanges, where you can switch from one line to another. Just be careful that youre going in the right direction, by checking your destination stop - lines go (e.g.) Northbound/Southbound, or Eastbound/Westbound, so each Line has 2 separate platforms, mostly (but not always) on the same level, separated by a short tunnel. The maps for each side are usually displayed as you ascend or descend to that level. Some have multiple branches (e.g. Northern Line), so you have to check the train destination (usually line terminus). Some trains don't go to the end of the line - Piccadilly Line is an example here - at both ends. (E.g. not all Northbound trains go to Cockfosters, some terminating at Wood Green, or Arnos Grove - where there are maintenance facilities).
we have such congestion charges here in sweden as well in the big cities. It makes a big deal if you drive to work from inside the zone or outside the zone since u not only paying more for fuel u also have to pay monthly the entrance/exit-fees. I take the train, no extra charge^
In her teens and early twenties, my mother, who was born and grew up in Camberwell, South-East London, used to walk across the river all the time, including to get to theatre and ballet performances in the evenings. It was wartime, and there were times during air raids when she'd just carry on walking through pitch-black streets (blacked-out due to war-time regulations), anxious to get home, regardless of the bombs dropping all around.
In my teens and early twenties, penniless and living on and off with my parents in London, I used to amuse myself no end by getting on a Circle Line tube train and going round and round for hours, people watching. Even though out of sight, you could tell the kinds of places you were stopped at by the kinds of people that got on and off, how they were dressed, their manner, and so on. Not sure if you're still allowed to do that now, but it was fascinating.
Not related to the video, but if you wanna avoid that the camera runs out of battery, get a phantom battery. Its basically a batteryshell with a cable attached to it so you can plug directly into the wall power. Giving you unlimited batterylife.
I used the Elizabeth Line the other week! Live in north Essex, drove to Shenfield S Essex and got the tube 🚇 all the way in. Brilliant
Where I live, public transportation is quite easy to use and although we constantly complain about delays we only have to pay 40 euros per month for the pass that allows us to use buses and metro. To use the train you have to buy a different pass. We used to have double deckers but not anymore, except for the Hop on Hop off bus that tourists can use to visit the city.
Isn't that Lisbon?
@@anotherthez7598 No, it's Porto.
@@loboclaud Alright then...
the tube / and the london full public transport is still great. me as a europeen tourist is it each time the best way to move in london
This is one of the best videos on the subject, most have no idea at all. But he didn’t mention the other great London system, the Thameslink not part of TfL, 68 stations and over 140 miles long, from Bedford to Brighton, so London’s system is huge much bigger than people think .
Not forgetting to mention Taxis and Uber boats.
New video out on TH-cam last Monday - search for ' montana fox london ' - Every London Underground Station (in 6 days).
He mentioned the national rail service as independent rail companies, each operating different parts of the country and connecting them together in a great cooperation. He just missed the river boat system, actually run by Uber but still part of the TFL.
I worked on the Tube in various capacities for over thirty years, and let me tell you... the *map* is well-designed (although there's too much on it now IMO), but the system itself is miraculous! The miracle is not that it's so clever but that it works at all! It wasn't designed from scratch, it just sort of evolved more or less randomly for over a hundred years (not exaggerating) with very few attempts to integrate any of it. The level of organization and co-operation required to keep it going is almost superhuman, and from behind the scenes you get the feeling that it could all come crashing down in an instant, and when things go even slightly wrong, getting it all back together can take many hours even if nothing else happens in the meantime. The best we could hope for is that the passengers wouldn't notice how much trouble we were in, and on that score we were great, but managing things like train movements, crew deployments/reliefs, station operations, co-operating with the people controlling other lines so that it all *seemed* to fit together when it never really did, was mentally exhausting enough to burn me out by the time I was 50. I swear if I hadn't retired early it would have killed me. I've spent a day in the Air Traffic Control at Heathrow and it was less stressful than an hour in a London Underground line control room, or even a signal box in the morning peak.
When you're travelling on the Tube, please be nice to the workers you can see, and spare a thought for the ones you can't see. The only thing they care about is getting you home safely, and they're bloody good at it. 😊
TFL is publicly owned, which is why the network works so well. Most of its staff are unionised as well.
So is the transport in Glasgow which is why it doesn't
Hugely subsidised and often on strike
@@martinowton7210 Not often really. And as a payer of council tax in London and high rate tax payer, I'm happy to see it subsidised.
I’ve lived near London all my life and then lived in zone 2 and 3 for 10 years. I’ve definitely spent 3000+ hours on London public transport and for all its issues, I love it dearly. As a collective whole it is one of the most amazing feats of engineering and technology and something at the absolute core of a Londoners life. Tube stations are landmarks, they define how people refer to areas and give any seasoned Londoner a cheat code to knowing roughly where anything is. Long live the tube!
The public transport system is second nature to Brits because we use it from childhood going to and from school without any parents.
Not really to most Brits. Public transport is awful in most places outside of London. Most kids these days get driven to school every day by their parents, even when they live in walking distance. And people wonder why the traffic is always so bad.
@@idot3331 It's interesting that we all make these statements like 'most kids these days get driven to school' because it's a hunch. I do it myself but often the reality doesn't always back it up. In fact, most kids DO walk to school. In 2022 the UK government did some research and discovered the following -
Among secondary school kids (aged 11-16)
- 41% walk
- 26% go by car
- 16% go by bus
- 6% go by bike
Obviously, this is an average across the country and it will vary from place to place with some areas even more kids walking and others more being driven. In more rural areas where children live further from school more kids will go by car or bus. I live in a city and most kids around here walk. And public transport where I live in north Manchester is really good in my opinion.
@@blotski The fact that more go by car than by bus and bike combined is not a good statistic at all. 26% may be less than 41% it's still very high when you consider that 84% of the UK population lives in cities, not rurally, and that UK cities are very densely populated. Like you said, this is data from across the whole country, so it will also be skewed by the large population living in London and the couple of cities where public transport is decent compared with the majority of the country.
Anecdotes don't say much on their own, but since you shared your expierence - I live in a small/medium sized city, and my neighbours drive their kids down the road to school every day (illegally backing out of a one way street to do so) when it's like a 5 minute walk away. This is not a direct problem with public transport since it should just be a short walk, but it's a bizzare and unhealthy attitude towards travelling even very short distances, caused by a combination of poor public transit and dangerous streets for pedestrians and cyclists - especially children. These both cause and perpetuate an excessive overreliance on cars in most parts of the country, which is detrimental to every aspect of society, even in significantly sized cities - Birmingham and Leeds have to be the worst examples.
The worst part is that this is all by design - the government has been axing public transit and planning entire cities with cars as the foremost priority since the 50's and 60's. This is due to very open political corruption, with huge bribes to MPs from the petroleum and automotive industries in exchange for voting to destroy all competition to cars, and even government ministers with blatant conflicting interests to their position. The transport minister Ernest Marples, who ordered the Beeching report and resulting decimation of the railways, was the founder and 80% stakeholder of a huge civil engineering firm which was then contracted to build motorways and flyovers for the government. How this was ever allowed to happen is beyond me, and the willingness of an elected official to permanently ruin the whole country for the sake of huge personal financial gain can only be described as evil.
this year I was two times in london... once because of work but other time as trip... was there only 3 days but I walk a lot 15-25km a day... and use all type of transport, I was alone but still it was easy to understand when you know where you want to get. And when I need I just asked people around which were always happy to help. Really enjoyed my time there!
I don't live in London but in Berlin, but we have a transit system comparable in size - 9 subway lines and countless suburban trains, trams, busses and even some ferries at the outskirts of the city. On the other hand, it is really annoying to find a parking lot, especially in the city core. Furthermore, we have a quite decent infrastructure of bike lanes (even if it is not comparable to Amsterdam or Copenhagen) and the City is quite walkable. I'm now 41 years old and don't even have a driving license! And I know many other people who travel around the city the same way I do. Just take the bicycle or public transport - no car needed!
So, yeah! it is quite another life style here in Europe compared to America ;)
In Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, and Boston most everyone is like you. If you only need to stay in the city you don’t really need a car, and between Uber, Lyft, traditional taxis, and car rentals, you don’t really need one at all if you’re only out of the city on the rare occasion.. But everywhere else, even in some larger cities, there is either no transit or so little that it’s practically useless
It's also that cities like Berlin have a decent car pool /car sharing system in place, so you don't need to own a car necessarily, but you can book one (provided that you are in possession of a driver's license, of course) should need occur.
Victoria line trains are every minute, one of the best lines.
Provided you don't mind being deafened, overheated and squashed by other passengers in the process.
The ULEZ (ultra low emission zone) has recenty been created which now covers a much wider area of London, and costs £12.50 a day if your car doesn't meet certain emission standards. A colleague of mine had to sell his 10 year old luxury BMW because he lives in the ULEZ zone and would be charged £12.50 every single time he used his car. Needless to say, no-one in London would buy it and he had to sell it to someone from far away....
Sadiq Khan and his henchmen mafia are laughing all the way to their Cayman Islands bank accounts. Khan doesn't even spend any money cleaning the Underground trains - just go in any of them and have a look - filthy. Never been cleaned properly, years of grime.
On the other hand, I have a 22-year-old Peugeot and was pleasantly surprised to find it was compliant and I don't have to pay any ULEZ charge. I have a friend who had to sell his car, but got more than compensated by the scrapage scheme. That said, and I agree with him, it seems sad to dump a car when the overall environmental cost of replacing it would be greater. It's even more difficult to understand, given he also owns an old triumph herald which, because if its vintage car status, is exempt from everything, including the congestion zone charge, it seems!
@@denysmace3874 ULEZ is about cleaning up the air rather than climate change directly. Though if it reduces car journeys and gas guzzlers it will have a positive climate impact.
The cracking joke of it all is, it works brilliantly. I, a german, was visting London in 2013 for the first time. I always used public transport. I never got lost. Maybe i was trained on bad user interfaces from Germany, but i found my way everytime on the first try. And even as a german, born in the capital, i sometimes struggle to find the right connection between lines. I do applaud London for a (tube)-system that never misguides you. Whatever the locals may say, come to Berlin and try to find the right connection. Good luck. (i mean whilst standing in the actual tube station finding your platform to depart from)
I live in London and I've visited Berlin a couple of times. My biggest issue with your tube system was having to exit the tube for what looked on the map like an underground connection. Other than that, it was easy to use and easier to skip the fare 😎 at the time, at least. Btw, you can skip the fare on TFL, too, if you're familiar with the particular stops.l that allow it.
I had no problem with the Berlin U-Bahn. But then, I'm a Londoner born and navigating public transport systems is part of my DNA.
Just a point of note Ryan. This is London. There is nothing like this in the North of England where i live. People are getting angry.
Most of our taxes spent on Southern England. North of England hardly any of this. Also trains up here. Years old.
Really annoys me\us
Most of the taxes come from southern England too…………
An exception being Manchester. We have an extensive tram system and the buses have just been taken back into public control. The rail companies are all being gradually renationalised so hopefully we'll see some improvement.
@@Cactus732 As a northerner I have to say this is an uncomfortable truth. 30% of all UK taxes are generated in London alone.
Northerner exiled in London here: it's the other way round. Taxes raised from people and busineses in London get spent elsewhere in the country. Northern cities do have good public transport systems. all other cities are a fraction the size of London, so the transport networks are not as extensive.
In addition, there is also a river boat service, which is funded by TFL so it is part of the whole transit network and ticketing system (although more expensive) and a cable car at Greenwich that is more of a gimmick as it takes you from the O2 arena and across the Thames to nowhere of significance lol but this can also be used by oyster card but uses sponsorship deals for its upkeep.
How about spending some money in the north of England. HS2?. Oh, I forget, it's all gone on Crossrail.
That's bad because crossrail is a local line and HS2 is a cross-country high speed railway. It's like spending all the money for the m1 on a single local road project. In other countries, numerous cities build new subway lines, while national high speed rail lines are built, all at the same time. We shouldn't have to choose between building new subway lines for getting around within our cities and building high speed rail to link all the cities. Both are important. Birmingham will be the biggest European city without an underground network when the Belgrade Metro opens its 1st 2 lines at the end of the decade.
I love the congestion charge because I remember how crazy London roads were before it came in and how much better they are now. Basically the government does not want you to drive in London so they charge you for doing it, but also provide lots of super cheap public transport options. I love the tube and would never dream of driving in London.
Guy lost it😂 in part when if you wanna park in central London you need to pay 17$🤣🤣🤣
I love his honest uncensored natural reactions😂Pure shock for poor Ryan😂
That $17 isn't to park, that's just to enter the zone. Plus more if you are driving a dirty diesel. Parking charges are a whole different level.
@@tedb4355 really?Hahaha even better I hope Ryan would read this 🤣
I suppose new way of flexing in central London is something like I came by car and parked,huh me too but mine was old dissele one😂
A lot of South London was also a flood plain and marshland, drained in about 1815. If you are retired you also get free travel in London and if you live in the congestion zone, as I do, you get 90% discount on the congestion charge. Most major roads are outside the zone so it is easy to travel by car outside it.
Well said - you can see why - that enormous loop in the river - almost an island.
TfL is publicly owned.
Many parts of the UK are unlucky enough to have privately owned transport systems, but they generally provide an inferior service to the publicly owned ones.
Heh heh, Mayor Sadiq's policy of cutting buses because they make Oxford Street look cluttered is a real selling point for politically controlled transport policy 🙄
It gets forgotten even here that 3 other British cities, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, have tubes too. Much smaller networks of course. But it's part of the London dominance that everyone associates tube only with there.
Good point. On the other hand there are cities with better tram networks than London. Manchester being the obvious example
The tube is simple to navigate, never got lost using it and I can't say the same about the subway in New York 😔
I’m sorry to hear you’re poorly. Please rest up and get better soon xxx
Actually London evolved rather than was designed
yea the video says that at the end
As a tourist in London I love the tube! There's always a tube station near by. It is so easy to use! Easy to find your way and there's always someone who works there who is happy to answer your questions! And you never have to think about time because theere's always one coming in the next few minutes! Love it
Transport for London mostly doesn't operate the public transport directly, but it plans it, chooses the private providers, sets the prices and sells the tickets. There are strict regulations that stop other companies setting up competing bus services in London (and of course Rail is highly regulated as I guess it is everywhere).
Other parts of England have much more deregulated bus services with different companies trying to appeal to the public directly instead of appealing to a government body for a contract. That seems to work badly, since everyone wants to get on the first bus that arrives, not choose their favourite.
I have to agree with the others here.
London tube system might look confusing but is very efficient and easy to use, even for me who are not British.
Just use google maps, its easy. Confusion fixed.
you should react to the Chinese Shanghai metro or Japanese Tokyo one. Maybe shift away from Europe and move to asia for a bit
Don't for get this system is one hundred years older than anything in Asia!
I moved to London after university and have been living there ever since. I don't even have a driving licence, and neither does my husband, who grew up in London. Even when we had our son, we decided not to bother with driving. Some London friends did decide to drive when they had children because they felt it would make things easier, which is fair enough - but lots of London parents don't bother, the public transport is that good. Honestly, I'd say the only negative impact on family life not getting a driving licence has had is that it limits our vacation options. We can only holiday where we can get to with public transport and taxis, so rural campsites in France, say, are out. But it's not been a huge hardship because we just decided to focus on big cities like Berlin, Prague, Paris etc. instead and they're great places to see. And not having to run a car definitely has its own advantages, not just in terms of cost savings but also with considerations like not having to worry about parking or maintenance etc. Our son is now 12 years old and his school is 5 minutes' walk away, so he just goes there and back by himself. Nice and easy. :)
Wish there were more people like you. I had 4 sons in less than 7 years and we didn’t have a car for years - even travelled mob-handed to visit family in Liverpool on mainline train. British rail had such great offers in those days - all 6 of us could get London-Liverpool return for £36 in the 1980s. Too expensive now!
The Tube/Underground IS wonderful and in my 69 London years, I have, rarely, waited 10 minutes or more.
After 9.30am Transport IS FREE for Over 60's in London, as well.