Your own personal "fuel consumption" differs from that required by the DLR... (Hopefully?!) I hope that you'll never be trashed by DLR's fuel consumption ...as exciting as an electrifying experience might be, I would hope your safety-conscious travels will remain (if not 'sober') secure, and will always get you to wherever you wish to be...and to quote Jago, "in good order". 👍🤭🏴💕🇬🇧🙂🖖
If you keep a place in good order, you're telling the users that you view them as worthy of having a place that's in good order. It's a sign of respect. It helps give users a stake in the place. Something like 40 years ago, NYC subway system adopted the policy of removing graffiti as soon as possible. This in turn reduced the amount of graffiti, because one of the points of tagging is to see your tags persist. When they don't, there's less incentive to do it in the first place.
This is another of the Jago offerings containing social commentary disguised as a London transport video. It’s what separates Jago from some others who post on transport topics. Well thought out, well researched and, as one comes to expect, excellently presented. Luv It!
I've always believed that good public transport IS a social policy as much as a transport policy. Think about it. Public transport transports multiple individuals, in great numbers, who don't know eachother, fast and far more cheaply than private car ownership. The better the public transport, the more people can move, and the faster they can move. And to more areas. It means people have MORE opportunities for work, education, doctor's appointments, access to cultural institutions and other government services. Good public transport is good social policy.
I've worked on the DLR for 23 years and we are strongly encouraged to report anything broken, damaged or vandalised. As we have a quick response team always ready, many things are fixed in 24 hours. The trains are cleaned nightly, the platform bins are emptied nightly and the tracks through the platforms are picked fairly regularly although not as often as they used to (which was over-kill). Being a fairly small system, it's easy to keep on top of. The stations are well lit to discourage people skulking around on them and most stations take a concerted effort to get to and don't lead to anything so there's no unnecessary through traffic. All of the stations were designed to some accredited safety design (lighting, access, CCTV, passenger alarms etc) that discourages people from loitering on the platforms after hours. It's rare that a station doesn't see at least 2 engineering staff pass through it every night or groups of contractors using the platforms for access. This also discourages people from congregating on the platforms when the service isn't running.
Interesting. Why doesn't the same approach get taken on the tube? I watched a video on how filthy tube train seats are recently and never want to travel on one again.
@@andrewtregoning No, not at all. The DLR is franchised so we have to keep exacting standards and a certain (very high) percentage of trains have to be on time for the company to get the bonus running payments that make it worthwhile. That's trickier ever year since obviously these days, areas of the railway are getting old and the old rolling stock should have been well on the way to being replaced. Unfortunately there have been teething issues with new trains so we are relying on old trains which are getting a bit long in the tooth.
@@evilutionltd I'm guessing that since the trains are autonomous, it takes out certain human elements out of the picture (union, strikes, bureaucracy, etc.) and focus the resources on the remaining part of the system?
@ legally, the trains still have to have staff on. They check tickets but are there for customer welfare, closing the doors, security and taking over if there's a technical issue with the train. The autonomy does a good job of keeping the service on time and making it impossible for 2 trains to collide. The train captains make up the majority of staff and they really do have a thankless job dealing with issues and the public. There are a lot of staff assault, mostly towards the train captains. Their numbers mean they have fairly good control over what happens in the union. Thankfully we have only had to strike once. There have been threats of a strike but they are sorted in quick order by whoever is running the franchise.
The philosophy actually works. If I see a discarded crisp packet outside my house I move it straight away. If I don't there will be twenty discarded crisp packets plus empty plastic bottles next time I look out. It's all about avoiding herd mentality.
@@slaphead55 Graffiti is difficult as some 'street art' is 'nice', 'acceptable', 'to be encouraged', whilst of is 'intimidating', 'ugly', a 'nuisance' But it is quite subjective as to which is which. I dislike 'tags' ( I hope I'm using the correct term), but I don't know why.
This theory explains the decline of much of the UK outside fo London. Little to no investment leaves things to get shabby and run down, so people take it as a given that it's shabby and run down and nobody wants to invest to clean stuff up or improve things. And here we are.
And projection + tabloid headlines explains the perceptions of 'that London' which many people who live in other parts of the UK have of our capital city. It may also account for the sometimes obnoxious and entitled attitudes displayed by daytrippers and weekenders, particularly on public transport.
Funny how people in London assume they are better than everyone else, looking down on everyone, thinking everywhere is run down, when people outside London think London is full of crime, shabby and rude suspicious people 🤷🏾♂️
@@hairyairey But OP's point is in normal circumstances there's 1 member of staff inside the passenger areas of a DLR train, as opposed to 0 on a tube train.
@@CarzorStelatis it's a minor point because that driver can still evacuate a train or instruct all passengers to move to the front of the train when (as has happened) the train is being pursued by a runaway train. It got away by going flat out.
As a Mexico City resident I can relate. I must have been brutally dismembered by cartel violence at least a hundred times by now according to news reports, friends and family. Full disclosure: This city is lovely.
This video couldn't have showed up at any better time. Today i was at Canary wharf waiting for a train towards Lewisham on the South end of the Platform and saw a piece of broken glass was temporarily filled with a Plastic/Metal board with a sign apologizing for the inconvenience. They could have left the spot empty while waiting for the newer Glass or left it broken but this approach makes so much more sense!
When I hop on DLR I always try to sit in the very front row. And if I manage to do so, I pretend to be the driver, I hold the imaginary wheel and make "choo, choo" sounds.
@@emjayay Typical disinformation! Of course DLR trains have imaginary steering wheels. I've used one myself. I'm not convinced about the "choo, choo" thing, though. 🤔
I've driven the Tyne and Wear Metro many times in my life & never crashed one yet! I don't know how safe young kids are driving the Metro but if I have my way, they get elbowed sideways as I can't take a chance in my safety! 🤣
Brilliant way of avoiding unwanted passenger interaction. These days, for example, anyone sitting muttering to themselves isn't thought of as the Bus Loony and thus to be avoided, but merely someone with a Bluetooth connection to their mobile phone, inside their jacket. However, sitting at the front and pretending to drive is surefire guaranteed to work.
I love your videos Jago and equally love your dry humour. I lived in London for 8 yrs in the roaring 80s and had a spectacular time. I now live in a small township in south eastern Australia that you can drive thru in five minutes. Despite that I still miss the tube, the smell, the sounds, the camaraderie while waiting for a delayed train or pushed together like sardines in a tin. The sounds of the tube train are particularly nostalgic. Could you please go back to the sound of a tube train pulling into a station or a train accelerating out of a station at the end of your video like you did a few years ago. It brings back so many happy memories of living in civilisation.
Thank you Jago for acknowledging my request, it is much appreciated. If it was a Northern line train pulling into or out of Belsize Park that would see me die a happy man! Ps I’m not terminally ill, just filled with nostalgia!
Funny, I also miss the smell of the Tube when I'm not there. It is kinda like a school gym, but it's also a unique scent. I wonder if Jago has ever done a video on why the Underground smells like it does.
I'm pretty sure there are YT videos made by others that focus on the sounds of the Tube and other systems. But like with NYC subways, recent subway cars use AC motors and electonic controls and they sound very different from what you remember from the 1980s.
Good points. It may explain why, when travelling abroad, many other systems reach for the ends of the scale. They are either well kept or they are like the opening scenes from the Equaliser. Kudos to the DLR. (doffs cap). Nicely done, Jago.
A long time ago I had an IT gig (I was a consultant) at Canary Wharf (ghastly place, wharfish in places but nary a canary). This involved getting on the DLR at Bank, which is a warren, very noisy and full of people who would rather not be there. Then the DLR. Quiet, calm and relaxing before or after a day's work. Ah, I'd think, I won't vandalise it. I'll just read my book.
I was in Medellin in 2019, and people there are immensely proud of their Metro because of what it brought to their lives and to the city - there's no graffiti, no-one eats or drinks, and people even queue up nicely on platforms
In all the time I've used the DLR, I've rarely seen much in the way of vandalism. However, there was the case of the Poplar Pooper a while back - where someone kept relieving themselves in DLR lifts.
Very interesting video Jago. It’s understandable how there were fears when the DLR first opened; the tube in the 1970s and 80s could be a pretty grotty place couldn’t it!
If a place is kept clean and in good repair it signals, subconsciously and consciously that it is valued by those who use it and those who own/care for it.
In the US and Canada, the argument is the opposite, similar to what Kensington did during the tram days: the fear that new transport options will _bring_ crime to affluent areas by making it easier for poor people to get them (even arguing that commuter trains will be used as getaway vehicles). Beverly Hills is the worst offender in this case, despite having been established _because of_ commuter trains that no longer exist.
new public transport causes area to grow, new paupers move to there, result is devastating. If the area is already settled and no cheap development available, no one builds "affordable housing close to station", everything is much better.
@@antontsauWhat a surprise, now there's a housing crisis, homelessness is on the rise, children are stuck in their homes and don't go out with friends much, driving is the only option for transport, the freeways are clogged, old towns die, the air is filled with smog, people get more and more unhealthy, the transport sector emits unholy amounts of CO2 and fatal car accidents are increasing in number. Who could have seen this coming? The world has many problems, transit oriented development with cheap housing isn't one of them.
@roger5059 where? In cheap ghettos around train stations? Yes. But we live in boundless plains with houses, bright sun in blue sky, wide highways with fast cars, do not care about CO2 bs and everything is ok until our beloved govt in its infinite wisdom starts to care and improve.
I've definitely heard that in the US, but in Canada it tends to be the opposite with wealthier areas using their political power to bring _more_ public transport lines to their neighbourhood than average. Hence why recent subway projects in the Toronto area have gone to higher income areas such as Vaughan and Markham
The "Broken windows' theory" was known to me in 1967 when I was appointed The Salvation Army's officer at Dinnington, South Yorkshire. We had a small hall at Thurcroft about five miles away for Sunday School and Ladies Meeting. The hall was built from an old Prefab and had many small (about 30 x 12 inch windows - all the same size). When I was appointed, there were about seven broken windows. I bought twelve panes of glass and a ball of putty and replaced the seven broken windows. I was there for eighteen months and only had to replace two windows during that period.
It great to hear that your voice has returned, and it seems you are back to being your healthy, very much alive 'annoying' self! And a very interesting video to boot!
I think there is another side to it, which is that of 'don't defecate where you eat'. If a service or place is regularly used by people then those people are disincentivised from making it worse. Being a cheap and convenient public service means everyone is using it and thus few people are looking at it in envy or anger.
@@M0UAW_IO83 Oh, it's absolutely a thing, a relevant and significant thing, but it's not the Only relevant and significant thing, and the result is the sum of All of those relevant and significant things. So some places it's enough by itself, in others it's not enough to overcome all of the opposing factors. Same with staying on top of maintenance. It helps quite a bit, but if that wasn't the only causative factor, and the other factors aren't addressed or compensated for, it won't completely fix/prevent the problem.
what a load of shite lol. vandalism is mostly done by kids/teenagers who are too stupid and immature to think in that way. in glasgow ive also heard people justifying dropping litter by saying "the council will pick it up thats what we pay them for"
"I've lived in London more than 40 years, and I've never been killed even once - and I can be very annoying". And it is lines like that that make me come back to your videos again and again and again 🤣🤣
DLR is one of my favourite lines to travel on, I used to live in Beckton and the journey on that side just felt so futuristic to me in a way. Just feels so much more relaxed that the rest of the Tube (when not in rush hour at least)
Hi Jago, This video is an example of why I enjoy your associated comments each time I watch your videos. I'm down in Sydney, Australia, but here the apathetic approach of those maintaining our public transport system is evident with graffiti a regular occurrence (especially in the end carriages of the usually 8-car double-decker trains) and (younger) passengers with their feet on the seats in front of them (often seat backs can be swung over so passengers can always face forwards, but, the seat-back can be swung the opposite way if you want to put your feet up!). Maintenance seems to be the key remedy as you note. However, increased policing and mandatory fines may also help. During my 15 years in London back in the 70s/80s, the main problem for me was the "smoking carriage" (where one could usually find a seat during rush-hour) but, with universal "No Smoking" on the system (and down here) that seems to follow the "Broken Windows Theory", it is very unusual to notice a passenger smoking.......
This is one of the advantages of community rail volunteering. By doing the odd litter pick, planting some flowers and keeping an eye out of things that need fixing, volunteers can help reduce the amount of anti social behaviour at their local station and make it a more pleasant place to travel from/to.
I was going to go with "You are the clean-up crew to my broken windows" 👍 I can confirm London isn't any more dangerous than any other large city, probably safer than many. I've lived here for almost 50 years and haven't been killed once! My mate's uncle was killed by a falling tree but that was out in Surrey 😜
@@sandy_knight Did a couple of hooligans run up and chainsaw the tree down and shove it over onto him? Surrey sounds terrifying with all these horticultural horrorists running around!
@@ShadowDragon8685 Almost, one of them distracted him with a clockwork back-flipping monkey while the other cut the tree down with the saw attachment on his Swiss army penknife. I'm scared every time I have to go into Surrey, even Kingston makes me nervous!
I never considered it, but it is a good point. DLR stations in my experience always seem to be in rather good order, despite the minimal staffing. Makes sense as to why - not just TfL's approach to looking after the network, but the psychology that guides it; a principle I was not aware of until this video, but makes total sense when explained what it is - it is definitely a thing we encounter all the time even if we've never put a name to it. The more you know! Great video!
The theory does work for the most, in times of social unrest it's difficult to keep up with maintenance and repairs, on the whole I would appreciate it if it was applied more instead of being talked about by certain politicians who use the lack of maintenance and repairs to influence their voters into think it's all much worse than it actually is. Thank you for bringing this topic up.
Not sure that's true, much of the infrastructure was based on the old industrial train lines, they were there whilst you still had the opportunities to vandalise them. They also did not have CCTV.
4:07 My old office in the background. The vent from the Blackwall Tunnel supplies what air quality has not come from local roads and flights low overhead. 8:01 And another old office of mine. I get about you know.
One of the most impactful videos of yours. Good job DLR community! Even Stockholm (famous for 24 hour rule for graffiti removal off buildings) leaves its transport infrastructure defaced for quite long periods of time.
Well, another way to look at Broken Windows Theory is that if you leave the graffiti up but vigorously tackle any rubbish, actual damage, and maintenance issue, then your rolling stock and infrastructure become an urban art installation. I actually like seeing train cars with creative and well-executed graffiti. I don't know who's responsible for it but they're a hell of a lot more skilled an artist than I.
@@ShadowDragon8685 It is still graffiti- professional Artists are employed by TFL and their work lasts for generations not hours. *The New York Subway Trains were covered in this 'art' years ago and lost much revenue as passengers felt unsafe. * The Singapore Metro [MRT] opened in 1987 and even in this well run City/State there were problems with graffiti. A prolific vandal was caught and he turned out to be a Swiss Bond Trader in his late twenties.The Judge sentenced him to be Birched and then deported. (There were also issues with chewing gum being stuck on the rubber door seals} The PM was an Oxford educated lawyer-Lee Kuan Yew.
@@rick11960 Quite right. Most of Jago's audience is in Britain and the Anglosphere countries. It shocks me how many people there defend illegal behaviours. It's like they are consumed with self-hatred. They don't have to accept crime and disorder. Singapore and Tokyo are just two of the many Asian cities with low crime and good public transport. Copy them.
Repairing things as soon as they are broken by the aforementioned ne'er-do-wells shows a level of care that quickly defeats their objectives. We used to work on the basis of, at worst, having to replace things three times. Apart from certain areas it seemed to work.
The "Broken Windows",theory was used to great effect on the New York Subway and bus networks! If a train or bus went out graffiti laden,it attracted more graffiti! So a program was set up to clean every train/bus BEFORE IT WENT INTO SERVICE,and there was another program to make up for maintenance arrears,from the 1970's,Bankruptcy of the New York City government! Ah well,seems no one reads the past,and expects a good outcome,with out some introspection,and comprehension! Thank you Jago,for the insights! Thank you 😇 😊!
Even as the NYC Subways were aggressively being cleaned they were and still are to this day tagged. If anything it causes a delay in service as opposed to letting it run
@@SamAronow That comes down to a resident DA,who let's criminals go,without a slap on the wrist! However,the past election has changed that,as the laws,WILL BE ENFORCED!Expect a change for the better! Thank you 😇 😊!
"Broken window theory" - never heard of it before. It also never occurred to me to ask why the DLR wouldn't be vandalized. Interesting thoughts. Thanks Jago for advancing my education on human behaviour as well as the DLR.
Indeed. I recall her late Majesty always had a cheerful smile for her fellow travellers on the C&SLR as she journeyed to her summer residence in Stockwell.
Very interesting social comment, Jago. I see that the Met has absorbed this idea and expanded upon it as they now seem to espouse the "Broken Society" ethos of policing, where they create a warm feeling that there are no police. Shoplifting is a free for all, without penalty, mugging is an urban sport watched by security cameras, but not acted upon. That knife crime is considered to be an inability to dissuade those carrying such weapons to do so, but never mind there is Twitter (X) feeds to examine for "difficult" conversations, which is far more damaging to the fabric of society. Just as well the Met aren't in charge of the DLR. Nice video.
I think it's more likely that they're just daft. For back benchers it's pretty difficult to catch the speaker's eye and be allowed to speak so some appear to try at every opportunity even if they don't have anything sensible to say on the current topic.
Similarly, when I am trying to watch my weight and I indulge in a chocolate bar. I tell myself it will be just once, an exception, but invariably it leads to a whole week of eating more than I should. Interesting to see the same effect (and it's control) on a whole railway system and given some serious psychological study. Thanks for a great video that made me think!
As a Canadian who grew up in Vancouver, where literally none of our metro lines have any drivers or staff at any station other than occasional fare inspectors, this is always hilarious. I've never felt unsafe on the SkyTrain, on the train or on the platform. And Vancouver has some really sketchy people.
SkyTrain and the DLR are almost sister networks in a way, but Vancouver doesn't really have any issues in terms of vandalism on its metro, and the safety measures talked about here are all used: Intercoms, silent alarms, emergency phones on platforms etc...
I’ve always worked with a saying by Sir Winston Churchill, “we shape our buildings, there after they shape us.” In many ways it’s the same as the broken window theory of human response to environments.
In 1979 Nathan Glazer published an article arguing that minor public crime in New York, like graffiti, ignored by the authorities gave citizens permission to commit more serious crimes and his article inspired Wilson and Kelling to do research which confirmed that Glazer was correct.
I live in a Country where you have a refund deposit scheme on plastic and glass bottles and tin cans. It certainly reduces them being discarded as you get charged 25c per item. Add that up over a month.
Very good case in point. We have just visited Japan, where we found no litter, no graffiti - also no litter bins (well there are a few outside convenience stores). this "broken windows" theory certainly appears to work for DLR.
No graffiti on Malta either .... and no rubbish. But that might be due to the money or credits given for a bag of recyclable rubbish - people will literally watch you drink a beer just to grab the empty can as soon as you've finished it ! Seems to work and work extremely well.
Has less to do with the broken window theory then harsh punishments even if you are not guilty. General standard of the common good pretty much the same standard like in china or Singapore. You rarely get riots or violent hooligans or street fights.
My experience of Merseyrail is similar. Obviously there are problems, but the trains are generally well staffed and the stations are staffed. Rules are quietly enforced. Being at Liverpool Central late on Saturday is an education in sensible crowd control. You don't get as far as the platform with alcohol. I'd also say that DLR stations which are busy with late night crowds are pretty well supervised in my limited experience.
Great DLR video Jago. Considering the amount of graffiti in and around the transport network in London, I'm surprised how the DLR looks well kept. I've seen loads of London underground and overground videos with trackside and station platform graffiti but hardly any DLR vandalism. Thanks.
In Paris the less vandalized line is the less staffed one, the automated 14. It's the latest built, it was kept well maintained from it's construction, to keep the "shiny new stuff" look (despite the line dating from 1998, and yeah folks that close to 30 years old now). The newest addition to automated lines are older ones, in fact the oldest one (M1) was automated, in all its 1900 look glory, ... and it didn't changed a thing about how trashed it is despite the massive investment and addition of extensive CCTV surveillance required by the automation. So, no, vandalism has nothing to do with how many cops you have on your station platform. It's, sadly, more like a bad habit.
This is similar to why there's almost no graffiti on public transport in Canada. Systems such as the Toronto Transit Commission have policies that trains/buses/trams with graffiti cannot leave the yard until it is removed, so there's no point in vandalizing them in the first place
This is a very interesting topic for me. Here in South Africa we have been getting new urban train sets based on Alstom's XTrapolis Mega design. When the rollout started the general feeling was that since we have not had new trains for decades - and since the trains might cut into the profits of the local taxi operators - that we should expect to see these new trains and the related improvements made to stations destroyed, vandalised or burned in short order. While there have been a number of instances of youths breaking the large windows on the new trains by throwing rocks at them for sport, the overall response seems to be positive - and attitudes seem to be changing slowly. I think the key is to make people take pride in their own environment - and to make sure that maintenance is done so people feel comfortable to feel that way.
Visited DLR about three weeks ago, absolutely terrific and just jaw dropping the development in the East End of London. Those who knock UK regularly should come and see what has been achieved here has to be one of the greatest urban renewal schemes ever in the World. You can see why London is truly the World Capital.
@@handofsutekh it's filthy. nothing especially seats never get cleaned for years. it barely works. always breaking down several times a day. everything is falling apart and 30 years old. china, Japan, Moscow, Singapore, hk all have better rain networks. probably middle east too. and any videos or bad comments are removed from Internet due to ip protection. recently a cleaner uploaded how filthy tfl train seats are and they had him removing it.
I'd say it's more the feeling of being watched and the probability of being caught that deters crime. Stations are usually swarming with cameras, and they're built with wide open sight-lines and bright lights. If you want to skulk around in one without being seen, it's very difficult (go ahead and try it, pick a local station and try to find somewhere you confidently believe no one will come across to see what you're doing). As for crime in London, the reason it's a big topic is because it's a fair bit higher than other urban areas, even accounting for the larger population. It also reached a low in 2014 before slowly starting to tick back up which is a big cause for concern.
I have had this thought many times. Walk around Chelsea or expensive areas and you don’t see vandalism in the same levels as poorer areas. I think the quality of the environment affects peoples behaviour a lot
I recall when underground trains had no colours on them, just plain aluminium and they were a target for every graffiti artist (I use the word lightly) everywhere to put their 'tags' on them. Now they are painted, red, white, and blue, I don't see so much graffiti. I saw this at the approaches to Peterborough station in the late 70s. It was a series of tunnels under the roads with an open area, but just plain concrete. This again became a target for taggers and looked disgraceful when one tagger covered over another tagger's tag. Eventually, the council had the walls painted in a kind of Aztec design and after that, no more tags. Why anyone wants to see their tag on something beats me anyway.
If you want to see an immaculately restored raw aluminium tube carriage, go to the Mangapps Railway Museum at Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. It's currently closed for the winter, but is planning on reopening in February.
Broken window syndrome is something we in our block of flats are fighting against. Constant fly tipping and literal broken windows are chased up by us very quickly. We try very hard to maintain a clean and safe block, it's not easy because you're working against apathy, but we try.
The only time anybody was abusive on a London train that I have seen was on the docklands railway , some guy that yelling out that us foreigners should go back home and give back the jobs , he was a old local to the area and upset at what it has become, and we were there for a conference at the conference center. So it does happen, sometimes.
I worked at KPMG in 15 Canada Square - I used to love taking my lunch on the 3rd Floor Cafe and looking out at the DLR, it looked like a large model trainset. Getting back to Bow was the easiest journey in the world - beats the tube for comfort every day of the week.
It's sad that I even feel the need to have to say this, but it's a delight to hear a commentary on TH-cam spoken by a real person, and not some clunky AI droid which its (delusional) software creators think sounds 'realistic'. AI developers may indeed believe their Frankenstein creations can pass the 'Turing Test', but I've yet to hear one that doesn't make me wince. I heard a clone of the late 'Michael Parkinson' the other day, and it was embarrassingly unnatural. Why can't the developers hear what everyone else can? I'd rather listen to a basic Stephen Hawking-style voice synthesiser than a supposedly more natural AI voice. At least that's not trying to fool me. If video makers can't arrange to have a real human narrator (and I'm not claiming that it's easy to find a good one), it's far better to have silence and clear subtitles than a machine that 'thinks' we won't find its clumsy output annoying.
New York City took the same approach years ago when David Gunn ran the transit system and Rudy Giuliani (back when he was sane) was the mayor. New York was a hell-hole; the streets and parks were awful, subway cars were covered in graffitti on every surface. Under David Gunn, any sign of graffitti would make the train be taken out of service immediately. After that, the system remained clean and in good order, stations were patrolled and the city in general improved to the point where it's the safest city in the USA.
There's a lot of windscreen wipers on these driverless trains! No staff or low staff? If you simply employ a platform sweeper to clear any litter, the quality of the experience is improved. A bit like the concierge in a block of flats. The DLR is a bit like a horizontal lift.
thanks for the video and it sounds rather catching to try setting up the device and surrounding selfcleaning and vandalism proof as a start, keeping up the situation by modular concept of early repair and exchange of broken components and overall make the travel a positive experience what is a win for the users and the society in general and moreover sounds cheaper than letting a structure run down in a need for a rebuild. it may not be cheap as of annual costs but overall, like the example you pointed out, if the train isn't used as the trains and the stations are no places one likes to be at and therefore the numbers of travelers degrade and therefore less money is spend on keeping the service up, trains run less frequent, those running are more crowded, the overall loss is so much higher. this video i really do rate high as you pointed out what everybody could easily be aware of. that doesn't change my lack of understanding why people smash windows in the first place (yes, their day is boring and windows are satisfying breaking with a loud noise) but if i accept that and act addaptive by keeping everything up i get a much better experience for everybody. i'm using trains weekly and sometimes daily and on a monday morning on entering the elevator at the first station it's either broken or smells strong i instantly understand what people think who just tried public transport and forget about it using their cars again. and it doesn't stop there because the train is late, i might not catch my long distance exchange, and arrive late at work or at home to nobodies happiness (i'm carried away, sorry). broken windows theory, right, keep the good work up, looking forward to your next video, best, albrecht
Poor maintenance is where many public bodies fail. The Council finds a budget to put in some nice street feature but can't seem to find a much smaller budget to maintain it. Social housing decays quicker than private housing because it isn't maintained properly. I suggest this is because the people who do Big Projects are senior and can use them as a way of getting to the top, whereas the person who manages maintenance is low down the org chart and likely to remain there. So they'll spend £60 billion or more on HS2 and then we'll find that the escalator at the station keeps breaking down.
American transit systems need to learn a lot from this. Enforce the rules and naturally people won't break rules as much. This is why the subway systems in NYC and Toronto are so chaotic feeling. Things like fare evasion or just crazy people are commonplace and rarely do you feel safe pointing them out. I'm afraid the problem has grown to an astronomical size at this point, but I'm glad transit agencies are tackling them (well, some of them)
Very interesting. I grew up in a leafy south-west London suburb, and was 13 when the DLR opened. I'd often go roaming around with a Travelcard/Capitalcard exploring bits of London, and the DLR was a hugely exciting development - I saw quite a lot of test running before it opened, and travelled on it as soon as I could after opening day, which I think must have been the first weekend of operation, as far as I can remember. It all rather blew my mind, as it was my first exposure to the philosophy behind it all - high degree of automation, no staff, ultra-modern design etc, and I was pretty impressed by the transformation of the area as well. It was radically different to the solid Victorian architecture of where I grew up. I got chatting to a local guy who I guess must have been the same age as my parents at the time, and he was very cynical, saying something along the lines of "it'll all be smashed to pieces within a week". That comment always stuck with me, and I always thought he'd be wrong - I couldn't really articulate why, but you've knocked it on the head very well in this video. The DLR has always been clean and well-maintained, and I've never seen any major problems on it - so I'm really glad his cynicism was misplaced.
I had only previously heard about the Broken Window theory in regard to policing in New York, and it’s nice to see it applied elsewhere. Also, I think this is the first time in any of your videos that I’ve seen vintage American cars featured… it was kind of jarring, especially seeing a Chevrolet Camaro and a beat-up Ford F-150 (in addition to numerous other models) on London streets.
Still it is propably made up and not proven. Policing is now utterly misguided to hand major jail sentences and dozen of police encounters to young people.
I would also add that light rail networks also take a significantly different approach than traditional heavy rail in: 1) less is more... no need for lots of buildings and endless facilities on predominantly urban networks - keep the station simple and 2) the dlr and tram networks etc are more human in scale than heavy rail... one only has to look at the current "catherdral" thats is Beaulieu Park station being built just north of Chelmsford... vast costly buildings and canopies which bear no resemblance to the human scale... and which adds to the huge capital cost of construction as well as the vastly exorbitant operational maintenance costs... Keep up the good work 😊
The Northern line is still the misery line - the heat, the cramped carriages, the airlessness, the smell in some trains - there just isn't much crime anymore.
I also saw the DLR as a purpose travel. What I mean by that is the people that use the DLR commute to either work in the offices, gp to concerts or conventions, or be a tourist in Canary Wharf, even if you're a local or from London, where as riding on a Train or train, it varies and for some it's just a chance to either get up to mischief, or caise trouble.
My first stay in London was the summer of 1985. At that time I very much would have doubted a driverless, unstaffed LRL into the East End could have been maintained or even safely used. People old enough to remember that period were totally justified in being suspicious of the DLR.
I found this documentary so calming and grounding with all the stress in my life…maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner…or have CPTSD…either way, THANK YOU for this video. 🥲
“I’ve lived in London from more than 40 years and I’ve not been killed even once, and let me tell you I can be quite annoying” - same
Is there correlation between living in London and being quite annoying? 😇
Probably…
@@johnpulman7137 "The Krays only broke my legs twice. Lovely fellas. We was 'appier back then."
Have you really live in London for 40 years? I doubt it; no one can survive in London for that long.
@RR-uj2vx 40 years earlier this year, and cycling as my main form of transport, so doubly miraculous
I get trashed so the DLR doesn't have to.
Just doing my civic duty.
Thank you for your efforts.
Your own personal "fuel consumption" differs from that required by the DLR... (Hopefully?!)
I hope that you'll never be trashed by DLR's fuel consumption ...as exciting as an electrifying experience might be,
I would hope your safety-conscious travels will remain (if not 'sober') secure, and will always get you to wherever you wish to be...and to quote Jago, "in good order". 👍🤭🏴💕🇬🇧🙂🖖
I took the northern line yesterday night and let me tell you it is a communal effort made by a lot of londoners, but thanks for doing your share
o7 thank you for your service
May I join you in your trashing effort
"Tackle problems as soon as possible and you'll have fewer problems to deal with" sounds like good advice generally!
Jago for PM!
Jago for PM!
If you keep a place in good order, you're telling the users that you view them as worthy of having a place that's in good order. It's a sign of respect. It helps give users a stake in the place.
Something like 40 years ago, NYC subway system adopted the policy of removing graffiti as soon as possible. This in turn reduced the amount of graffiti, because one of the points of tagging is to see your tags persist. When they don't, there's less incentive to do it in the first place.
This is another of the Jago offerings containing social commentary disguised as a London transport video. It’s what separates Jago from some others who post on transport topics. Well thought out, well researched and, as one comes to expect, excellently presented. Luv It!
Imo that's the true joy of transportation. It is fascinating in mechanical terms alone, but moreso it says so much about the human condition
I've always believed that good public transport IS a social policy as much as a transport policy. Think about it. Public transport transports multiple individuals, in great numbers, who don't know eachother, fast and far more cheaply than private car ownership. The better the public transport, the more people can move, and the faster they can move. And to more areas.
It means people have MORE opportunities for work, education, doctor's appointments, access to cultural institutions and other government services.
Good public transport is good social policy.
I've worked on the DLR for 23 years and we are strongly encouraged to report anything broken, damaged or vandalised. As we have a quick response team always ready, many things are fixed in 24 hours. The trains are cleaned nightly, the platform bins are emptied nightly and the tracks through the platforms are picked fairly regularly although not as often as they used to (which was over-kill).
Being a fairly small system, it's easy to keep on top of. The stations are well lit to discourage people skulking around on them and most stations take a concerted effort to get to and don't lead to anything so there's no unnecessary through traffic.
All of the stations were designed to some accredited safety design (lighting, access, CCTV, passenger alarms etc) that discourages people from loitering on the platforms after hours. It's rare that a station doesn't see at least 2 engineering staff pass through it every night or groups of contractors using the platforms for access. This also discourages people from congregating on the platforms when the service isn't running.
Interesting. Why doesn't the same approach get taken on the tube? I watched a video on how filthy tube train seats are recently and never want to travel on one again.
so you're well funded? relatively?
@@andrewtregoning No, not at all. The DLR is franchised so we have to keep exacting standards and a certain (very high) percentage of trains have to be on time for the company to get the bonus running payments that make it worthwhile.
That's trickier ever year since obviously these days, areas of the railway are getting old and the old rolling stock should have been well on the way to being replaced. Unfortunately there have been teething issues with new trains so we are relying on old trains which are getting a bit long in the tooth.
@@evilutionltd I'm guessing that since the trains are autonomous, it takes out certain human elements out of the picture (union, strikes, bureaucracy, etc.) and focus the resources on the remaining part of the system?
@ legally, the trains still have to have staff on. They check tickets but are there for customer welfare, closing the doors, security and taking over if there's a technical issue with the train. The autonomy does a good job of keeping the service on time and making it impossible for 2 trains to collide. The train captains make up the majority of staff and they really do have a thankless job dealing with issues and the public. There are a lot of staff assault, mostly towards the train captains. Their numbers mean they have fairly good control over what happens in the union. Thankfully we have only had to strike once. There have been threats of a strike but they are sorted in quick order by whoever is running the franchise.
The philosophy actually works. If I see a discarded crisp packet outside my house I move it straight away. If I don't there will be twenty discarded crisp packets plus empty plastic bottles next time I look out. It's all about avoiding herd mentality.
Or even encouraging a positive-for-the-community herd mentality
"avoiding the herd mentality" and yet you are talking about crisp packets...
@@simon199418 Same thing on a smaller scale. One bit of graffiti and next thing the wall is covered in it if it's not removed promptly.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory
@@slaphead55 Graffiti is difficult as some 'street art' is 'nice', 'acceptable', 'to be encouraged', whilst of is 'intimidating', 'ugly', a 'nuisance'
But it is quite subjective as to which is which.
I dislike 'tags' ( I hope I'm using the correct term), but I don't know why.
This theory explains the decline of much of the UK outside fo London. Little to no investment leaves things to get shabby and run down, so people take it as a given that it's shabby and run down and nobody wants to invest to clean stuff up or improve things. And here we are.
And projection + tabloid headlines explains the perceptions of 'that London' which many people who live in other parts of the UK have of our capital city. It may also account for the sometimes obnoxious and entitled attitudes displayed by daytrippers and weekenders, particularly on public transport.
And even in the rest of London.
Funny how people in London assume they are better than everyone else, looking down on everyone, thinking everywhere is run down, when people outside London think London is full of crime, shabby and rude suspicious people 🤷🏾♂️
Automated trains with basically a guard on board are far better than driver-only trains where the one employee is hidden away in a sealed compartment.
Except it's not driverless, there are many occasions it has to be driven manually.
@@hairyairey But OP's point is in normal circumstances there's 1 member of staff inside the passenger areas of a DLR train, as opposed to 0 on a tube train.
@@CarzorStelatis it's a minor point because that driver can still evacuate a train or instruct all passengers to move to the front of the train when (as has happened) the train is being pursued by a runaway train. It got away by going flat out.
@@hairyaireyhonestly you’re unbearable
@@RS-vy9qv Thank you. I try my best 😂
"And I can be quite annoying" - as every child has found out when I've taken the front seat for filming purposes.
As a Mexico City resident I can relate. I must have been brutally dismembered by cartel violence at least a hundred times by now according to news reports, friends and family. Full disclosure: This city is lovely.
News channels naturally emphasise the negative in anything. Much better not to watch any news.
Yes I lived in London for many years and was not Murdered even once (yet).
I always wanted to visit but I keep hearing horror stories...
@@stephenlee5929I lived i London for 10 years and was murdered 3 times. It got so bad that I moved to Midsomer for a bit of peace and quiet
@@coastaku1954Honestly London is the safest place I've ever been to.
This video couldn't have showed up at any better time. Today i was at Canary wharf waiting for a train towards Lewisham on the South end of the Platform and saw a piece of broken glass was temporarily filled with a Plastic/Metal board with a sign apologizing for the inconvenience. They could have left the spot empty while waiting for the newer Glass or left it broken but this approach makes so much more sense!
When I hop on DLR I always try to sit in the very front row. And if I manage to do so, I pretend to be the driver, I hold the imaginary wheel and make "choo, choo" sounds.
Trains don't have steering wheels. Must adjust your fantasy life.
@@emjayay Typical disinformation! Of course DLR trains have imaginary steering wheels. I've used one myself.
I'm not convinced about the "choo, choo" thing, though. 🤔
I've driven the Tyne and Wear Metro many times in my life & never crashed one yet!
I don't know how safe young kids are driving the Metro but if I have my way, they get elbowed sideways as I can't take a chance in my safety! 🤣
Brilliant way of avoiding unwanted passenger interaction.
These days, for example, anyone sitting muttering to themselves isn't thought of as the Bus Loony and thus to be avoided, but merely someone with a Bluetooth connection to their mobile phone, inside their jacket.
However, sitting at the front and pretending to drive is surefire guaranteed to work.
I used to do that but most times an actual operator would come along and ask me to move so they can use the control panels.
I love your videos Jago and equally love your dry humour. I lived in London for 8 yrs in the roaring 80s and had a spectacular time. I now live in a small township in south eastern Australia that you can drive thru in five minutes. Despite that I still miss the tube, the smell, the sounds, the camaraderie while waiting for a delayed train or pushed together like sardines in a tin. The sounds of the tube train are particularly nostalgic. Could you please go back to the sound of a tube train pulling into a station or a train accelerating out of a station at the end of your video like you did a few years ago. It brings back so many happy memories of living in civilisation.
Thank you Jago for acknowledging my request, it is much appreciated. If it was a Northern line train pulling into or out of Belsize Park that would see me die a happy man!
Ps I’m not terminally ill, just filled with nostalgia!
I know what you mean mate, but I'm not personally 100% sure I'd miss the smells of the underground, especially the Central Line during summer!
You can tell you haven’t lived here since the 80s because huh?? 😂
Funny, I also miss the smell of the Tube when I'm not there. It is kinda like a school gym, but it's also a unique scent. I wonder if Jago has ever done a video on why the Underground smells like it does.
I'm pretty sure there are YT videos made by others that focus on the sounds of the Tube and other systems. But like with NYC subways, recent subway cars use AC motors and electonic controls and they sound very different from what you remember from the 1980s.
No one would even try Jago, you’re too loved and appreciated.
Good points. It may explain why, when travelling abroad, many other systems reach for the ends of the scale. They are either well kept or they are like the opening scenes from the Equaliser. Kudos to the DLR. (doffs cap). Nicely done, Jago.
The volume of graffiti and vandalism in many parts of Europe amaze me, London and UK is much better than most of Europe for this in my experience.
The Equalizer with Denzel Washington?
@@kensukefan47 The original TV program with Edward Woodward.
A long time ago I had an IT gig (I was a consultant) at Canary Wharf (ghastly place, wharfish in places but nary a canary). This involved getting on the DLR at Bank, which is a warren, very noisy and full of people who would rather not be there. Then the DLR. Quiet, calm and relaxing before or after a day's work. Ah, I'd think, I won't vandalise it. I'll just read my book.
Canary Wharf named after Canary Islands named after Dogs, not Canaries. A common mistake.
@hairyairey not a lot of dogs their either. Isle of Dogs is more doggy.
@@hairyairey eh? Is man joking?
@@z00h "The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs""
@@hairyairey The wharf where the Islands freight landed ?
I was in Medellin in 2019, and people there are immensely proud of their Metro because of what it brought to their lives and to the city - there's no graffiti, no-one eats or drinks, and people even queue up nicely on platforms
In all the time I've used the DLR, I've rarely seen much in the way of vandalism. However, there was the case of the Poplar Pooper a while back - where someone kept relieving themselves in DLR lifts.
Very interesting video Jago. It’s understandable how there were fears when the DLR first opened; the tube in the 1970s and 80s could be a pretty grotty place couldn’t it!
Massive appreciation for the Mega City One reference.
If a place is kept clean and in good repair it signals, subconsciously and consciously that it is valued by those who use it and those who own/care for it.
In the US and Canada, the argument is the opposite, similar to what Kensington did during the tram days: the fear that new transport options will _bring_ crime to affluent areas by making it easier for poor people to get them (even arguing that commuter trains will be used as getaway vehicles). Beverly Hills is the worst offender in this case, despite having been established _because of_ commuter trains that no longer exist.
new public transport causes area to grow, new paupers move to there, result is devastating. If the area is already settled and no cheap development available, no one builds "affordable housing close to station", everything is much better.
@@antontsauWhat a surprise, now there's a housing crisis, homelessness is on the rise, children are stuck in their homes and don't go out with friends much, driving is the only option for transport, the freeways are clogged, old towns die, the air is filled with smog, people get more and more unhealthy, the transport sector emits unholy amounts of CO2 and fatal car accidents are increasing in number.
Who could have seen this coming?
The world has many problems, transit oriented development with cheap housing isn't one of them.
@roger5059 where? In cheap ghettos around train stations? Yes. But we live in boundless plains with houses, bright sun in blue sky, wide highways with fast cars, do not care about CO2 bs and everything is ok until our beloved govt in its infinite wisdom starts to care and improve.
I've definitely heard that in the US, but in Canada it tends to be the opposite with wealthier areas using their political power to bring _more_ public transport lines to their neighbourhood than average. Hence why recent subway projects in the Toronto area have gone to higher income areas such as Vaughan and Markham
@@antontsau alrigjt this has got to be bait
another brilliantly insightful video, my god you don't sound over 40 , keep doing wat makes you happy x from Glasgow with love
3:23 "i'm not kidding, this is all on hansard" is quite possibly one of the best things i've ever heard
This is one of the best titles I've ever seen on the channel
The "Broken windows' theory" was known to me in 1967 when I was appointed The Salvation Army's officer at Dinnington, South Yorkshire.
We had a small hall at Thurcroft about five miles away for Sunday School and Ladies Meeting. The hall was built from an old Prefab and had many small (about 30 x 12 inch windows - all the same size). When I was appointed, there were about seven broken windows. I bought twelve panes of glass and a ball of putty and replaced the seven broken windows. I was there for eighteen months and only had to replace two windows during that period.
No pain, no gain…
It great to hear that your voice has returned, and it seems you are back to being your healthy, very much alive 'annoying' self!
And a very interesting video to boot!
I think there is another side to it, which is that of 'don't defecate where you eat'. If a service or place is regularly used by people then those people are disincentivised from making it worse. Being a cheap and convenient public service means everyone is using it and thus few people are looking at it in envy or anger.
Sadly that theory doesn’t apply on the Tyne & Wear Metro
Nice theory and I wish it were true but it's really not the case. See some of the comments here about 'not picking up that litter, it's not mine'
@@M0UAW_IO83yeah or Ive heard people say someone is paid to do that and they’d be out of a job 🤦🏾
@@M0UAW_IO83 Oh, it's absolutely a thing, a relevant and significant thing, but it's not the Only relevant and significant thing, and the result is the sum of All of those relevant and significant things.
So some places it's enough by itself, in others it's not enough to overcome all of the opposing factors.
Same with staying on top of maintenance. It helps quite a bit, but if that wasn't the only causative factor, and the other factors aren't addressed or compensated for, it won't completely fix/prevent the problem.
what a load of shite lol. vandalism is mostly done by kids/teenagers who are too stupid and immature to think in that way. in glasgow ive also heard people justifying dropping litter by saying "the council will pick it up thats what we pay them for"
"I've lived in London more than 40 years, and I've never been killed even once - and I can be very annoying".
And it is lines like that that make me come back to your videos again and again and again 🤣🤣
He actually said 40 years.
@@shoutyshouty yup, that is absolutely true 🤣 don't know how I missed that on first listen
DLR is one of my favourite lines to travel on, I used to live in Beckton and the journey on that side just felt so futuristic to me in a way. Just feels so much more relaxed that the rest of the Tube (when not in rush hour at least)
It was difficult to get the front seat because of a certain Mr Hazzard talking to whoever would listen about a Yank named Yerkes.
Hi Jago, This video is an example of why I enjoy your associated comments each time I watch your videos. I'm down in Sydney, Australia, but here the apathetic approach of those maintaining our public transport system is evident with graffiti a regular occurrence (especially in the end carriages of the usually 8-car double-decker trains) and (younger) passengers with their feet on the seats in front of them (often seat backs can be swung over so passengers can always face forwards, but, the seat-back can be swung the opposite way if you want to put your feet up!). Maintenance seems to be the key remedy as you note. However, increased policing and mandatory fines may also help. During my 15 years in London back in the 70s/80s, the main problem for me was the "smoking carriage" (where one could usually find a seat during rush-hour) but, with universal "No Smoking" on the system (and down here) that seems to follow the "Broken Windows Theory", it is very unusual to notice a passenger smoking.......
A Public Transport-based retelling of the old "Stitch in time saves nine" proverb... nice!
0:50 Legendary quote
Just today there was stabbing in London and the BBC reported the time in BST. In November. Might as well book that winter getaway in Mogadishu.
This is one of the advantages of community rail volunteering. By doing the odd litter pick, planting some flowers and keeping an eye out of things that need fixing, volunteers can help reduce the amount of anti social behaviour at their local station and make it a more pleasant place to travel from/to.
You are the brush and bucket of soapy water to my light graffiti 😊
I was going to go with "You are the clean-up crew to my broken windows" 👍
I can confirm London isn't any more dangerous than any other large city, probably safer than many. I've lived here for almost 50 years and haven't been killed once! My mate's uncle was killed by a falling tree but that was out in Surrey 😜
@@sandy_knight Did a couple of hooligans run up and chainsaw the tree down and shove it over onto him? Surrey sounds terrifying with all these horticultural horrorists running around!
@@ShadowDragon8685 Almost, one of them distracted him with a clockwork back-flipping monkey while the other cut the tree down with the saw attachment on his Swiss army penknife. I'm scared every time I have to go into Surrey, even Kingston makes me nervous!
@@sandy_knight My word!
Still, one must admire the inventiveness of those rascals.
I never considered it, but it is a good point. DLR stations in my experience always seem to be in rather good order, despite the minimal staffing. Makes sense as to why - not just TfL's approach to looking after the network, but the psychology that guides it; a principle I was not aware of until this video, but makes total sense when explained what it is - it is definitely a thing we encounter all the time even if we've never put a name to it. The more you know!
Great video!
The theory does work for the most, in times of social unrest it's difficult to keep up with maintenance and repairs, on the whole I would appreciate it if it was applied more instead of being talked about by certain politicians who use the lack of maintenance and repairs to influence their voters into think it's all much worse than it actually is.
Thank you for bringing this topic up.
Excellent video Jago it’s nice seeing my area of East London taking prominence in a video 🙏
Over 40? A mere lad wrote the 81 year old! I left London before the advent of the DLR and so I had no opportunity to vandalise it.
Not sure that's true, much of the infrastructure was based on the old industrial train lines, they were there whilst you still had the opportunities to vandalise them.
They also did not have CCTV.
You could always pop back in for a day trip with a Sharpie and stick a Kilroy somewhere.
@Shadow 40s memes are either wholesome or incredibly racist/sexist
@@szurketaltos2693 right? Kilroy was wholesome, though. Also, he was here.
It's never too late.
Glad to hear that you have your voice back Jago.
4:07 My old office in the background. The vent from the Blackwall Tunnel supplies what air quality has not come from local roads and flights low overhead.
8:01 And another old office of mine. I get about you know.
One of the most impactful videos of yours. Good job DLR community!
Even Stockholm (famous for 24 hour rule for graffiti removal off buildings) leaves its transport infrastructure defaced for quite long periods of time.
Well, another way to look at Broken Windows Theory is that if you leave the graffiti up but vigorously tackle any rubbish, actual damage, and maintenance issue, then your rolling stock and infrastructure become an urban art installation.
I actually like seeing train cars with creative and well-executed graffiti. I don't know who's responsible for it but they're a hell of a lot more skilled an artist than I.
@@ShadowDragon8685
It is still graffiti- professional Artists are employed by TFL and their work lasts for generations not hours.
*The New York Subway Trains were covered in this 'art' years ago and lost much revenue as passengers felt unsafe.
* The Singapore Metro [MRT] opened in 1987 and even in this well run City/State there were problems with graffiti.
A prolific vandal was caught and he turned out to be a Swiss Bond Trader in his late twenties.The Judge sentenced him to be Birched and then deported.
(There were also issues with chewing gum being stuck on the rubber door seals}
The PM was an Oxford educated lawyer-Lee Kuan Yew.
@@rick11960 Quite right. Most of Jago's audience is in Britain and the Anglosphere countries. It shocks me how many people there defend illegal behaviours. It's like they are consumed with self-hatred. They don't have to accept crime and disorder. Singapore and Tokyo are just two of the many Asian cities with low crime and good public transport. Copy them.
Repairing things as soon as they are broken by the aforementioned ne'er-do-wells shows a level of care that quickly defeats their objectives. We used to work on the basis of, at worst, having to replace things three times. Apart from certain areas it seemed to work.
The "Broken Windows",theory was used to great effect on the New York Subway and bus networks! If a train or bus went out graffiti laden,it attracted more graffiti! So a program was set up to clean every train/bus BEFORE IT WENT INTO SERVICE,and there was another program to make up for maintenance arrears,from the 1970's,Bankruptcy of the New York City government! Ah well,seems no one reads the past,and expects a good outcome,with out some introspection,and comprehension! Thank you Jago,for the insights! Thank you 😇 😊!
Why does this seemingly uniquely not work in Los Angeles?
Even as the NYC Subways were aggressively being cleaned they were and still are to this day tagged. If anything it causes a delay in service as opposed to letting it run
@@SamAronow That comes down to a resident DA,who let's criminals go,without a slap on the wrist! However,the past election has changed that,as the laws,WILL BE ENFORCED!Expect a change for the better! Thank you 😇 😊!
@@roberthuron9160except the laws broken by the president and his mates. And the international laws broken by putin.
@@SamAronow It actually failed in New York too
"Broken window theory" - never heard of it before. It also never occurred to me to ask why the DLR wouldn't be vandalized. Interesting thoughts.
Thanks Jago for advancing my education on human behaviour as well as the DLR.
Over 40 years? Gosh, you may have met Charles T. Yerkes in person, if not Queen Victoria
Indeed. I recall her late Majesty always had a cheerful smile for her fellow travellers on the C&SLR as she journeyed to her summer residence in Stockwell.
@@meijiturtle3814
And the Isle of Wight ?
Very interesting social comment, Jago. I see that the Met has absorbed this idea and expanded upon it as they now seem to espouse the "Broken Society" ethos of policing, where they create a warm feeling that there are no police. Shoplifting is a free for all, without penalty, mugging is an urban sport watched by security cameras, but not acted upon. That knife crime is considered to be an inability to dissuade those carrying such weapons to do so, but never mind there is Twitter (X) feeds to examine for "difficult" conversations, which is far more damaging to the fabric of society. Just as well the Met aren't in charge of the DLR. Nice video.
I have colleagues who police the dlr, it's certainly used for crime but rarely suffers directly from it.
the M25 is used for crime ....
Hansard is a rich mine to explore if looking for whimsy or daftness. I think many MPs get bored and ask daft questions to entertain themselves.
Or perhaps they are genuinely daft and lack critical thinking skills?
I think it's more likely that they're just daft.
For back benchers it's pretty difficult to catch the speaker's eye and be allowed to speak so some appear to try at every opportunity even if they don't have anything sensible to say on the current topic.
I am, like Jesus, the Son of a carpenter - Eric Heffer.
@@caw25sha
They also do it to get a mention in their local paper.
6:14 As a sociology graduate, this is music to my ears. Reminds me of Merton’s theory of crime.
Similarly, when I am trying to watch my weight and I indulge in a chocolate bar. I tell myself it will be just once, an exception, but invariably it leads to a whole week of eating more than I should. Interesting to see the same effect (and it's control) on a whole railway system and given some serious psychological study. Thanks for a great video that made me think!
As a Canadian who grew up in Vancouver, where literally none of our metro lines have any drivers or staff at any station other than occasional fare inspectors, this is always hilarious. I've never felt unsafe on the SkyTrain, on the train or on the platform. And Vancouver has some really sketchy people.
SkyTrain and the DLR are almost sister networks in a way, but Vancouver doesn't really have any issues in terms of vandalism on its metro, and the safety measures talked about here are all used: Intercoms, silent alarms, emergency phones on platforms etc...
Vancouver also uses a lot more 'modern' urban planning/design ethos and techniques that address the root causes of a lot of social problems.
I’ve always worked with a saying by Sir Winston Churchill, “we shape our buildings, there after they shape us.” In many ways it’s the same as the broken window theory of human response to environments.
In 1979 Nathan Glazer published an article arguing that minor public crime in New York, like graffiti, ignored by the authorities gave citizens permission to commit more serious crimes and his article inspired Wilson and Kelling to do research which confirmed that Glazer was correct.
I live in a Country where you have a refund deposit scheme on plastic and glass bottles and tin cans. It certainly reduces them being discarded as you get charged 25c per item. Add that up over a month.
In New York there are people on the street's carrying large waste bags filled with empty cans.
Don't give them ideas, Pike!
Can we make the DLR management responcible for the whole of the UK..... (LOVE the DLR !!!)
Very good case in point. We have just visited Japan, where we found no litter, no graffiti - also no litter bins (well there are a few outside convenience stores).
this "broken windows" theory certainly appears to work for DLR.
No graffiti on Malta either .... and no rubbish. But that might be due to the money or credits given for a bag of recyclable rubbish - people will literally watch you drink a beer just to grab the empty can as soon as you've finished it !
Seems to work and work extremely well.
Has less to do with the broken window theory then harsh punishments even if you are not guilty. General standard of the common good pretty much the same standard like in china or Singapore.
You rarely get riots or violent hooligans or street fights.
@@paxundpeace9970
Isn't that because the Police are as violent as the Criminals ?
Maybe this is the culture ?
My experience of Merseyrail is similar. Obviously there are problems, but the trains are generally well staffed and the stations are staffed. Rules are quietly enforced. Being at Liverpool Central late on Saturday is an education in sensible crowd control. You don't get as far as the platform with alcohol. I'd also say that DLR stations which are busy with late night crowds are pretty well supervised in my limited experience.
Great DLR video Jago. Considering the amount of graffiti in and around the transport network in London, I'm surprised how the DLR looks well kept. I've seen loads of London underground and overground videos with trackside and station platform graffiti but hardly any DLR vandalism. Thanks.
Jago's Videos never fail to put a smile on my face.
In Paris the less vandalized line is the less staffed one, the automated 14. It's the latest built, it was kept well maintained from it's construction, to keep the "shiny new stuff" look (despite the line dating from 1998, and yeah folks that close to 30 years old now).
The newest addition to automated lines are older ones, in fact the oldest one (M1) was automated, in all its 1900 look glory, ... and it didn't changed a thing about how trashed it is despite the massive investment and addition of extensive CCTV surveillance required by the automation.
So, no, vandalism has nothing to do with how many cops you have on your station platform. It's, sadly, more like a bad habit.
I used to live there in the 90s and the smell was horrible especially the RER at Chatelet to Noisy Le Grand.
Dunno if that’s been cleaned up now
This is similar to why there's almost no graffiti on public transport in Canada. Systems such as the Toronto Transit Commission have policies that trains/buses/trams with graffiti cannot leave the yard until it is removed, so there's no point in vandalizing them in the first place
Melbourne, Australia has the same policy.
Hmm! Didn't see that one coming. Informative video about something I'd never considered (and about my favourite London transport network)
Very Japanese. Even the older trains and stations in more rural areas of Japan are immaculate and are a joy to ride on.
This is a very interesting topic for me. Here in South Africa we have been getting new urban train sets based on Alstom's XTrapolis Mega design. When the rollout started the general feeling was that since we have not had new trains for decades - and since the trains might cut into the profits of the local taxi operators - that we should expect to see these new trains and the related improvements made to stations destroyed, vandalised or burned in short order. While there have been a number of instances of youths breaking the large windows on the new trains by throwing rocks at them for sport, the overall response seems to be positive - and attitudes seem to be changing slowly. I think the key is to make people take pride in their own environment - and to make sure that maintenance is done so people feel comfortable to feel that way.
Visited DLR about three weeks ago, absolutely terrific and just jaw dropping the development in the East End of London. Those who knock UK regularly should come and see what has been achieved here has to be one of the greatest urban renewal schemes ever in the World. You can see why London is truly the World Capital.
u must not have travelled the world much to think dlr is world class 😂😂😂
I've travelled the world - what's wrong with it and where is there a better light railway
@@handofsutekh it's filthy. nothing especially seats never get cleaned for years. it barely works. always breaking down several times a day. everything is falling apart and 30 years old.
china, Japan, Moscow, Singapore, hk all have better rain networks. probably middle east too.
and any videos or bad comments are removed from Internet due to ip protection. recently a cleaner uploaded how filthy tfl train seats are and they had him removing it.
I've lived in NYC for 14 years, taking the subway at 4am, and I still haven't gotten killed!
Are you sure? Watch the movie "The Others": you can already be a ghost without realizing it!
Working for a local Council we talk a lot about broken window theory.
I'd say it's more the feeling of being watched and the probability of being caught that deters crime. Stations are usually swarming with cameras, and they're built with wide open sight-lines and bright lights. If you want to skulk around in one without being seen, it's very difficult (go ahead and try it, pick a local station and try to find somewhere you confidently believe no one will come across to see what you're doing).
As for crime in London, the reason it's a big topic is because it's a fair bit higher than other urban areas, even accounting for the larger population. It also reached a low in 2014 before slowly starting to tick back up which is a big cause for concern.
I have had this thought many times. Walk around Chelsea or expensive areas and you don’t see vandalism in the same levels as poorer areas. I think the quality of the environment affects peoples behaviour a lot
I recall when underground trains had no colours on them, just plain aluminium and they were a target for every graffiti artist (I use the word lightly) everywhere to put their 'tags' on them. Now they are painted, red, white, and blue, I don't see so much graffiti.
I saw this at the approaches to Peterborough station in the late 70s. It was a series of tunnels under the roads with an open area, but just plain concrete. This again became a target for taggers and looked disgraceful when one tagger covered over another tagger's tag. Eventually, the council had the walls painted in a kind of Aztec design and after that, no more tags.
Why anyone wants to see their tag on something beats me anyway.
If you want to see an immaculately restored raw aluminium tube carriage, go to the Mangapps Railway Museum at Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. It's currently closed for the winter, but is planning on reopening in February.
Broken window syndrome is something we in our block of flats are fighting against. Constant fly tipping and literal broken windows are chased up by us very quickly. We try very hard to maintain a clean and safe block, it's not easy because you're working against apathy, but we try.
The only time anybody was abusive on a London train that I have seen was on the docklands railway , some guy that yelling out that us foreigners should go back home and give back the jobs , he was a old local to the area and upset at what it has become, and we were there for a conference at the conference center. So it does happen, sometimes.
Maybe he got out at the wrong station ? Marble Arch [Tyburn} for Speakers Corner }
Sorry you had to experience that.
I worked at KPMG in 15 Canada Square - I used to love taking my lunch on the 3rd Floor Cafe and looking out at the DLR, it looked like a large model trainset.
Getting back to Bow was the easiest journey in the world - beats the tube for comfort every day of the week.
It's sad that I even feel the need to have to say this, but it's a delight to hear a commentary on TH-cam spoken by a real person, and not some clunky AI droid which its (delusional) software creators think sounds 'realistic'.
AI developers may indeed believe their Frankenstein creations can pass the 'Turing Test', but I've yet to hear one that doesn't make me wince. I heard a clone of the late 'Michael Parkinson' the other day, and it was embarrassingly unnatural. Why can't the developers hear what everyone else can?
I'd rather listen to a basic Stephen Hawking-style voice synthesiser than a supposedly more natural AI voice. At least that's not trying to fool me.
If video makers can't arrange to have a real human narrator (and I'm not claiming that it's easy to find a good one), it's far better to have silence and clear subtitles than a machine that 'thinks' we won't find its clumsy output annoying.
Is Jago not AI?🤔😁
There's at least one completely AI generated car oriented YT channel. It gets all kinds of things wrong.
agreed
New York City took the same approach years ago when David Gunn ran the transit system and Rudy Giuliani (back when he was sane) was the mayor. New York was a hell-hole; the streets and parks were awful, subway cars were covered in graffitti on every surface. Under David Gunn, any sign of graffitti would make the train be taken out of service immediately. After that, the system remained clean and in good order, stations were patrolled and the city in general improved to the point where it's the safest city in the USA.
There's a lot of windscreen wipers on these driverless trains! No staff or low staff? If you simply employ a platform sweeper to clear any litter, the quality of the experience is improved. A bit like the concierge in a block of flats. The DLR is a bit like a horizontal lift.
used to use the dlr when i lived in london brilliant brilliant service.another good post from the j.h.
thanks for the video and it sounds rather catching to try setting up the device and surrounding selfcleaning and vandalism proof as a start, keeping up the situation by modular concept of early repair and exchange of broken components and overall make the travel a positive experience what is a win for the users and the society in general and moreover sounds cheaper than letting a structure run down in a need for a rebuild. it may not be cheap as of annual costs but overall, like the example you pointed out, if the train isn't used as the trains and the stations are no places one likes to be at and therefore the numbers of travelers degrade and therefore less money is spend on keeping the service up, trains run less frequent, those running are more crowded, the overall loss is so much higher. this video i really do rate high as you pointed out what everybody could easily be aware of. that doesn't change my lack of understanding why people smash windows in the first place (yes, their day is boring and windows are satisfying breaking with a loud noise) but if i accept that and act addaptive by keeping everything up i get a much better experience for everybody. i'm using trains weekly and sometimes daily and on a monday morning on entering the elevator at the first station it's either broken or smells strong i instantly understand what people think who just tried public transport and forget about it using their cars again. and it doesn't stop there because the train is late, i might not catch my long distance exchange, and arrive late at work or at home to nobodies happiness (i'm carried away, sorry).
broken windows theory, right, keep the good work up, looking forward to your next video, best, albrecht
Poor maintenance is where many public bodies fail. The Council finds a budget to put in some nice street feature but can't seem to find a much smaller budget to maintain it. Social housing decays quicker than private housing because it isn't maintained properly. I suggest this is because the people who do Big Projects are senior and can use them as a way of getting to the top, whereas the person who manages maintenance is low down the org chart and likely to remain there. So they'll spend £60 billion or more on HS2 and then we'll find that the escalator at the station keeps breaking down.
Great video. Question for those with knowledge of London… why hasn’t the DLR been replicated? As far as I can tell it is incredibly successful
Came for the video, stayed for the comments ☺️
American transit systems need to learn a lot from this. Enforce the rules and naturally people won't break rules as much. This is why the subway systems in NYC and Toronto are so chaotic feeling. Things like fare evasion or just crazy people are commonplace and rarely do you feel safe pointing them out. I'm afraid the problem has grown to an astronomical size at this point, but I'm glad transit agencies are tackling them (well, some of them)
Brilliant insight into a fairly universal societal challenge.
Very interesting. I grew up in a leafy south-west London suburb, and was 13 when the DLR opened. I'd often go roaming around with a Travelcard/Capitalcard exploring bits of London, and the DLR was a hugely exciting development - I saw quite a lot of test running before it opened, and travelled on it as soon as I could after opening day, which I think must have been the first weekend of operation, as far as I can remember.
It all rather blew my mind, as it was my first exposure to the philosophy behind it all - high degree of automation, no staff, ultra-modern design etc, and I was pretty impressed by the transformation of the area as well. It was radically different to the solid Victorian architecture of where I grew up. I got chatting to a local guy who I guess must have been the same age as my parents at the time, and he was very cynical, saying something along the lines of "it'll all be smashed to pieces within a week".
That comment always stuck with me, and I always thought he'd be wrong - I couldn't really articulate why, but you've knocked it on the head very well in this video. The DLR has always been clean and well-maintained, and I've never seen any major problems on it - so I'm really glad his cynicism was misplaced.
DLR is indeed surprisingly clean
It’s absolutely true, neglect is soon spotted and the response is always to make it worse.
I had only previously heard about the Broken Window theory in regard to policing in New York, and it’s nice to see it applied elsewhere. Also, I think this is the first time in any of your videos that I’ve seen vintage American cars featured… it was kind of jarring, especially seeing a Chevrolet Camaro and a beat-up Ford F-150 (in addition to numerous other models) on London streets.
Still it is propably made up and not proven. Policing is now utterly misguided to hand major jail sentences and dozen of police encounters to young people.
Jago needs an award for the B-roll choices in this video!
I love DLR! the best thing in London!
0:47 Subscribed just for that gag. 10/10
I would also add that light rail networks also take a significantly different approach than traditional heavy rail in:
1) less is more... no need for lots of buildings and endless facilities on predominantly urban networks - keep the station simple and
2) the dlr and tram networks etc are more human in scale than heavy rail... one only has to look at the current "catherdral" thats is Beaulieu Park station being built just north of Chelmsford... vast costly buildings and canopies which bear no resemblance to the human scale... and which adds to the huge capital cost of construction as well as the vastly exorbitant operational maintenance costs...
Keep up the good work 😊
The Northern line is still the misery line - the heat, the cramped carriages, the airlessness, the smell in some trains - there just isn't much crime anymore.
Another example of "A stitch, in time, saves nine"
New Yorkers🤝 Londoners
Constantly being told that their city is a free for all war zone
I think the Broken Windows Theory applies to washing up in my house
I also saw the DLR as a purpose travel. What I mean by that is the people that use the DLR commute to either work in the offices, gp to concerts or conventions, or be a tourist in Canary Wharf, even if you're a local or from London, where as riding on a Train or train, it varies and for some it's just a chance to either get up to mischief, or caise trouble.
My first stay in London was the summer of 1985. At that time I very much would have doubted a driverless, unstaffed LRL into the East End could have been maintained or even safely used. People old enough to remember that period were totally justified in being suspicious of the DLR.
I found this documentary so calming and grounding with all the stress in my life…maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner…or have CPTSD…either way, THANK YOU for this video. 🥲