Loving London: Transportation
If you read my recent London Review debriefing our first 11 months here, you may recall that public transportation was my number 1. Let’s call it my P1 as it’s race day in Monza and I am currently cosplaying Angela Cullen in my Mercedes-AMG Petronas black polo.
The Formative Years: Shackles of Suburban Mobility
I neither loved nor hated driving while in the US. I’d had a car since I was 16, half my life. It was the (privileged) default existence of life in Texas. Suburban life means the need a car to get anywhere - the grocery store or a neighbouring town.
I had an interesting assortment of cars in the 15 years that I drove. Some were smart, sound purchases, the others… les so.
One, which I referred to as my “brunch car” was actually a delusional purchase which had a broken odometer at 182K miles that I never even used a full tank of gas on before selling 6 months later. It was a black 1982 300D - still my favourite model of any car to date.
Casey, if you are here, you’ve seen first-hand how someone can get swept up by the charm of these old, square, chrome beauties.
For good measure, here is a picture of me sitting on top of the hood of my Honda Civic (the car I had the longest) in 2015 the day that I sold it. This little machine carried Spencer and I many miles between Houston and Austin while we were in school and at least once to Florida and back.
R.I.P 2008 - 2015
Why am I sitting on the car?
The answer is the same to why my eyebrows are bleached here from a trip to Malaysia:
Why not?
The Expat Years: Freedom through Communal Accessibility
There are plenty of people who own cars in London, but I do not think it is necessary. Parking is limited, expensive and finally, driving here means driving on the left side of the road and roundabouts are pervasive. I am all for personal development, but this isn’t really anything I was interested in mastering.
The London Underground, known as the tube, covers 402km and serves 272 stations around the greater London area. The buses operate 675 routes. This does not include the overground system, train, DLR, or river transportation options. The transit is not free, but I think very reasonably priced. I pay roughly £2.50 each way to get from our flat to my office. I paid £90 to get the train to Edinburgh, Scotland last Christmas booking roughly 2 weeks in advance.
There is an app called City Mapper, like Google Maps, but provides routing options with the available public transportation options.
The systems is easily navigable. I’ve made exactly 1 mistake getting on the wrong line since I’ve arrived.
I can access the entire city with very little effort. It’s almost too easy. You’re able to get from point A to point B without worrying about actively navigating each turn and exit, watching for traffic, dodging pedestrians, finding parking or all of the other bothers associated with driving. I’ve been able to read SO much whilst in transit since moving here. I’ve subbed my podcast consumption while driving for reading and I wouldn’t go back.
This is the closest experience to teleportation. It is like being Super Mario - in one tube and out the other in a new place, though these aren’t green and aren’t vertical, thankfully.
The map below shows only “The Tube” connectivity of the London metropolitan area.
Riding the tube is also participation in a micro-community. You’re experiencing the same transit, in the same shared space. I like people watching and observing the fashion of other riders, which you miss when driving alone in your own metal bean.
This lady doing her best impression of the yellow hand rails inside the tube. Spot on, really!
These two strangers with the most complimentary green and floral ensembles. I really could not have asked for more whilst reading my book on The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece blocking a good third of the shot.
I love when there are dogs along for the ride, especially when they are close and friendly. It’s a bonus when you see the same dog again!
The down side of public transit:
Sometimes people choose to listen to their phones aloud or play games with the sound up. This creates a certain friction in my core but allows me to practice patience and deep breathing and to say a little wish that this person locates their headphones and learns how to behave in public shared spaces before we share a ride again.
