Whilst in England, i have been commuting around on public transport, predominantly the London Underground and London buses. Whilst never very good, this year seems particularly atrocious. And this has had nothing to do with the inclement weather.London Underground train lines close sporadically blocking several routes, especially over the weekend and a journey to the heart of the West End which should take 35 minutes on a clear run can take close to 2 hours. Some destinations become totally unreachable at times despite supposed services on several train lines. Trying to make the 12 mile journey on the 249 bus from Hackney to Tottenham took 4 cancelled buses, a broken down bus, an hour wait, resulting in the necessity to catch the outrageously expensive London cabs. I wouldn´t mind so much if the public transport charges were reasonable, but prices are nothing short of extortionate. I´m paying First World prices for Third World facilities.
It is easier and much cheaper to negotiate journeys around Delhi. Take the Metro in Hong Kong (all constructed in England) and the experience is incomparable. Clean, fast and efficient you will never wait for more than 4 minutes between trains, night or day.
Nygate, ever the patriot explains the situation to me on two counts.
1) London has the oldest Underground system in the World, so it is outdated. Well i´m sorry my friend but you have had 150+ years to develop it
2) The election for the position of Lord Mayor is up for grabs next year, and the current Mayor is desperate to get it sorted within the year in the hope he can get re-elected. Too little, too late Mr Johnson
With the Olympic Games due in 2012, London is in danger of being shown up to world humiliation and ridicule.
And they are mean too!
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