"no trip on public transportation is worth £4" and other visitor's views

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From My London

The hilarious London Underground reviews by Americans - and why they're wrong

"you don't get to see the city"

"Very very small, compared to decent sized American trains."

" ... it appears to have a monopoly on underground travel, which is state backed and, quite frankly, something that would never happen in America, land of freedom."

[broadgage]

They have a point regarding some of the complaints. Too hot, too small, too crowded, and too expensive, I agree with.
However to complain about the absence of a view from an underground railway is simply daft. As is complaining about the trains being all of the same colour.

[ellendune]

" ... it appears to have a monopoly on underground travel, which is state backed and, quite frankly, something that would never happen in America, land of freedom."

Not sure that Andrew from San Francisco knows what goes in in the USA.

Remind me who runs the bay area rapid transit in San Francisco and the subway in New York?

[didcotdean]

Some other observations from the Yelp page:

The map needs to be totally revamped to include real world topography.
Not just a bunch of inter-locking circles and lines.  That doesn't allow for scale, and landmark identification.

I know London is old but, shouldn't all Underground Stations undergo remodeling for ADA COMPLIANCE

The lights flicker. People get sick during rush hour so the train doesn't move until the ambulance comes.

To be fair though there are a number that are complimentary. Just the one example:

In my admittedly limited travels to date, no transport system has come close to the London Underground (and that includes NYC's metro lines). With a map that's fairly easy to read and a fleet of subway cars running at a near constant pace, you'll usually get where you need to go with time to spare and without incident while riding what is affectionately known locally as the Tube.

[grahame]

As is complaining about the trains being all of the same colour.

Alternatives tube liveries have been tried, but sadly extinct



Collective Commons License - thank you "Dasher" - see ((here))

[stuving]

I'm surprised to see no complaints about how screamingly loud it is in places. Especially since a lot of the comments are looking at it as an alternative to anything at all - including walking or not visiting London or any other big city.

[eightonedee]

It's just as well they didn't try travelling on the tube in the bad old days before the smoking ban

But most of the "criticisms" would attach to the various undergound metros I've ridden over the years in Paris, Madrid, Hamburg, Vienna and Vancouver. I think these tell us much more about Americans than the London Underground.

[Robin Summerhill]

From My London

The hilarious London Underground reviews by Americans - and why they're wrong

"you don't get to see the city"

"Very very small, compared to decent sized American trains."

" ... it appears to have a monopoly on underground travel, which is state backed and, quite frankly, something that would never happen in America, land of freedom."

I hope they don't forget that they're far less likely to get shot in London than they are in America...

[johnneyw]

It's just as well they didn't try travelling on the tube in the bad old days before the smoking ban

But most of the "criticisms" would attach to the various undergound metros I've ridden over the years in Paris, Madrid, Hamburg, Vienna and Vancouver. I think these tell us much more about Americans than the London Underground.

The "you don't get to see the city" observation is certainly not true on the Hamburg U-Bahn, which, similar to it's S-Bahn, is more above than below ground. Over my life I've many times enjoyed the views that they both offer of the city (and beyond).
In fact the elevated docks section of the U3 from Rodingsmarkt to Baumwall and then Landungsbrucken is a heritage site and tourism attraction in it's own right.


Edit: Typo correction.

[TonyK]

I would not have been surprised had someone foreign complained that it was full of foreign people on holiday, a criticism I have heard voiced with a southern states drawl on a vaporetto in Venice. And that was on one of the few I have ever seen with a couple of empty seats.

[Red Squirrel]

From My London

I'm not a huge fan of listicles, though the evidence would suggest that they are effective in attracting traffic. In the old days it took some skill to write an article for a redtop; journalists had to combine a reasonable grasp of the issues with an ability to distil them into something their reader demographic could easily digest. But writing listicles? My cat could do it - and he's been dead these twenty years.

[johnneyw]

From My London

I'm not a huge fan of listicles, though the evidence would suggest that they are effective in attracting traffic. In the old days it took some skill to write an article for a redtop; journalists had to combine a reasonable grasp of the issues with an ability to distil them into something their reader demographic could easily digest. But writing listicles? My cat could do it - and he's been dead these twenty years.

RS's cat would still have a promising career at the Bristol Evening Post then, perhaps working with Schroedingers Cat on the a "10 things you never knew about quantum mechanics" piece.

I gave a personal example on this thread yesterday of a public transport system well worth the price of a day ticket (even if it's more than the four quid in the title). There are others I could cite, like Cardiff's "Explore the Capital" rail card for less than a fiver and a good way of exploring Cardiff/Penarth in it's own right.
There must be more such good deals around.

[Red Squirrel]

RS's cat would still have a promising career at the Bristol Evening Post then, perhaps working with Schroedingers Cat...

...maybe Fat Freddy's Cat could complete the team!

[Clan Line]

I would not have been surprised had someone foreign complained that it was full of foreign people on holiday, a criticism I have heard voiced with a southern states drawl on a vaporetto in Venice. And that was on one of the few I have ever seen with a couple of empty seats.

I went to Venice a few years back - dreadful place - the roads were all flooded !!

[Bmblbzzz]

RS's cat would still have a promising career at the Bristol Evening Post then, perhaps working with Schroedingers Cat...

...maybe Fat Freddy's Cat could complete the team!

Not forgetting...
https://youtu.be/ykRZbOb1c5c