Surviving the London Underground

Before I came to London I had never experienced the dubious pleasure of travelling on the underground, and it took a bit of time to get used to! Here are some of the things I wish I knew to start with:

Basics
The Transport for London website has all the key information you need to know about using the Tube, and also has a journey planner so you can work out what transfers you will need to make and how long it might take.

Lines
There are eleven different lines, each depicted by a different colour. At first glance the map of the London Underground looks very confusing, but as long as you know where you are starting from, the final station you need to reach and the line that it’s on you will be able to work out your route without too much trouble. And if you get totally confused then the staff at the ticket booths are usually very helpful.

Zones
The London Underground is separated into six zones. Zone One includes the centre of the city, and Zones Two to Six radiate out from this centre point. There are different charges the further you travel, and the more zones you travel across the more expensive it becomes.

Tickets
A range of travelcards are available from stations, but if you are spending more than a couple of days in London it’s worth getting an Oyster Card for £3.00. Fares are usually cheaper with an Oyster Card and they are very easy to use. Money needs to be loaded onto the card, which can be done at stations. As long as you have at least £1.00 left on the card you will be able to get through the barriers, and if you travel more than one zone in this case the Oyster Card will go into debit.

Weekends
There is always engineering work being carried out on the weekends, and sometimes whole lines are closed down for the day. Transport for London has information on which lines are affected and it really pays to check their website before you leave home!

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Crowds
If you have a choice definitely try to avoid travelling on the Tube during rush hour! If it can’t be helped then it is worth knowing a thing or two about dealing with the hordes of commuters.

Navigation
In London everyone walks FAST. If you’re not in a hurry or don’t quite know where you’re going then make sure to keep out of the main flow of traffic or risk being trampled on! One of the easiest ways to move through the crowds is to find a human shield – someone you can walk behind who will clear a path.

Using Escalators
There are two “lanes” on each escalator: keep to the right if you are standing still, or keep to the left if walking. You can always recognise when someone has spent time in London because the automatically stand on the right hand side of escalators no matter where they are!

Entertainment
There is not a lot to occupy your time on the underground, so having something to do makes the journey a lot more interesting.

Reading
Books, magazines, newspapers… any reading material is a good way to pass the time. Just make sure that you don’t get too absorbed and miss your stop! If you forget to bring something to read there are usually vendors outside stations distributing free newspapers, and people always leave copies behind in the carriages.

Music
Usually the only sounds to be heard on the Tube are the noise of the train and the recorded voice constantly informing everyone to “mind the gap”. Listening to music is a big improvement! I have found that rock music is best during rush hour. When the crush of bodies gets too much I like to pretend I’m in a civilised version of a mosh pit.

What are your suggestions for dealing with public transport?