Travelling on the tube: how do people do it every day? It is so gross?

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Snakey B

It's not that bad. I travel mostly on the Central Line from Lancaster Gate, or the Circle, District or Hammersmith and City from Paddington. Yes it is crowded during rush hour, but then before I moved to London I lived near Manchester and 8:05 and 8:14 trains from Bramhall (where I lived) to Piccadilly were every bit as bad. And it has to beat sitting in traffic and the hassle of parking.

My advice is leave plenty of time for your journey. Once you remove the stress of "argh - now I'm going to be late!" the parts of the journey that would otherwise be stressful (tourists blocking your way, not being able to get on the first train because it's too packed, or those random middle-of-the-tunnel stops) aren't as bad. Always take a book with you, and if you're not sure whether you can be bothered going to the loo before you leave or whether to wait until you get there - err on the side of caution in case you get stuck in a tunnel for 20 minutes!

In addition, if you're a visitor don't forget that many places in London are close enough to walk. The number of times I've seen tourists get on the Tube at Bond Street and off again at Oxford Circus - above ground it's barely 500 yards!

In fact on the subject of walking, don't dismiss that as a possibility even if you have a journey of more than one or two stops. There are some nice walks to be had in London, and once you take the cost and stress into account it's often better to swap your shoes for a pair of trainers for a forty minute walk from the office to your mainline station than it is to fight your way on to the Tube for a ten-minute ride.

wunceinawhile

People do it so that they can get to their workplace, or for pleasure outings. Don't keep coming up with this "It's gross" nonsense - it's an essential part of London life, and the solution for those who can't abhor it is easy. Move elsewhere.

david f

They do it because the alternative is tearing your hair out in traffic jams - which is even worse!
Actually people are often their own worst enemies. For short journeys in central London buses are often a viable alternative - but people don't think of them. Also, on the trains, most people try and squeeze in the middle carriages. If you go to the front or rear you will often find a lot more room.

aurora

I cud never do it, i hate busses as it is so id def avoid the tube! i'll stick to livin in the midlands! :)

Wafflebox

Because you get paid loads more for working in London!!

Howard O

The Piccadilly Line is the worst - i got bitten by a foreign bug on the tube the first week i lived here - must have hitched a ride in someones suitcase! There are decent lines - the Jubilee is very good - not overly-packed. I saw a report on how many nasty bacteria can be found on the seats.. here's an excerpt:

"During Autumn of 2000, a team of scientists at the Department of Forensics at University College London removed a row of passenger seats from a Central Line tube carriage for analysis into cleanliness. Despite London Underground's claim that the interior of their trains are cleaned on a regular basis, the scientists made some alarming discoveries.

"The analysis was broken down. This is what was found on the surface of the seats:
4 types of hair sample (human, mouse, rat, dog)
7 types of insect (mostly fleas, mostly alive)
Vomit originating from at least 9 separate people
Human urine originating from at least 4 separate people
Human excrement
Rodent excrement
Human semen

"When the seats were taken apart, they found:
The remains of 6 mice
The remains of 2 large rats
1 previously unheard of fungus"

hmmmmmmm... not very nice.

samdawsoniow

It's not too bad, ok it's not nice either but if you get a seat its ok, I just hate it when you have to stand and sweaty business men are all squashed in with their papers hitting you in the face, and the there's the people with who eat on the tube and makes the whole line stink, that's gross... ok thinking about it I agree with you, the tube sucks (and bloody Ken L always seems to put the prices up) Luckily I don't take the tube everyday, only when I'm running too late to catch the bus (which isn't much better)

debzc

It is, but you have to put up with it if you live here!

bbarr12

you have to act,behave and smell like a rat to win in the rat race

SunshineSmile

I know. Thats why I moved to the countryside. Years and years of travelling on the Piccadilly line in rush hour, with the tube full in the morning of people who had just landed at Heathrow with all their cases and rucksacks and in the evening full of people travelling to Heathrow with all their cases and rucksacks. Arrrgh the memory of it!!! Summer was worst, hot and sweaty, never got a seat - and if the tube stopped between stations ARRRGGGHHHHH!

luddite

It's quicker than walking. If you don't like it you could always return
to the wide open countryside, farmboy.

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