3 ms·

I used to drive into west London for 10am, most days it would take 45 minutes to travel a mile from Hammersmith to Shepherd’s Bush.

Theodores 7y ago
Note for others not familiar, if you go Hammersmith Tube Station to Shepherd's Bush Tube Station overland by bicycle then it takes five minutes, depending on traffic lights. That is actual five minutes, as in three hundred seconds. Clearly both areas are larger than their respective train stations but the stations are representative. To actually get a tube or other train between the two is not entirely direct, you would probably get on the wrong Hammersmith station at first (there are two), spend five minutes crossing the road to get to the other one. Then at the end a bus or long walk would be needed, so you would soon be in 45 minute territory. The traffic can be mostly ignored if doing the route by bicycle except on the various mini ring roads they have to keep traffic deadly. Hammersmith itself is like a six lane motorway ring road of hell, easy to die on that one. Then at Shepherd's Bush there is that green bit where the traffic just goes round and round very slowly. On the bike you just go straight without getting sent around these merry-go-rounds of car fumes. No idea why anyone would want to drive in such parts of London even though I have had to do it for work myself. It is not even driving, just slowly shunting along, blocking the way for 'serious' road users who care about their time and arriving promptly. As a cyclist I don't see myself as a serious road user, I assume those people in cars have more important journeys than mine so I am deferential to them. Yet, if being prompt matters to you and you do work in London, the bicycle is the only reliable means of getting from A to B in a dependably timely manner. By that definition, those people in their posh cars, inching along, can't really be that serious. If they thought about it properly they would abandon their tin boxes or find better jobs. Travel by car is that silly in London.
- davesmith1983 7y ago
  Most people are coming from outside of London and what you find is that it is usually quicker to drive in and just sit in the traffic than mess about doing park and rides and then travelling in.
  - isostatic 7y ago
    It was far quicker to walk a mile to Twyford station, get the train to Ealing, and the tube to White City (or fast train to Paddington and tube to Shepherds Bush now) than to drive. It was a long time ago, and I don't work in Shepherds Bush any more, but the trip today would be 0835 - leave home 0856 - get slow train to London 0935 - arrive Ealing 0950 - arrive White City 0955 - arrive at office Or 0840 - leave home 0900 - get fast train to London 0932 - arrive Paddington 0950 - arrive White City 0955 - arrive at office Driving was 0800 - leave home 0900 - arrive Hammersmith flyover turnoff 0950 - arrive car park 0955 - arrive at office It was the hammersmith roundabout that was the real killer. The reason I drove in for 10AM (once a week) was because I was on 12-14 hour shifts, and driving home after 10pm was about 50 minutes. Very few people working office hours would drive into London, especially Central London, and parking at stations across the south east is often full by 9AM.
    - davesmith1983 7y ago
      Interesting tbh if it was the same amount of time I would just drive in. Outside of London the train is always slower. I used to live in Manchester and get the train into Stoke. Driving was always faster without exception. Generally it was cheaper as well (I have a crappy old diesel astra that is even cheaper to repair and I will drive it til the wheels fall off).
      - isostatic 7y ago
        All things being equal I'd rather take the train - you can read, work, watch TV The main benefit of driving is not having to wait for a specific train. From where I live in south cheshire, it's quicker to get the train into Manchester than drive (although quicker to drive to Stoke than train). That's with a 0930 arrival in Picadilly Gardens. Same to get to Cardiff, Birmingham and certainly London (2h15 to Euston, vs 2h40 to the M25 with no traffic) If I had to be in Picadilly Gardens for 0900 though it would be faster to drive thanks to the train times.
        7y ago

Theodores 7y ago

Note for others not familiar, if you go Hammersmith Tube Station to Shepherd's Bush Tube Station overland by bicycle then it takes five minutes, depending on traffic lights. That is actual five minutes, as in three hundred seconds. Clearly both areas are larger than their respective train stations but the stations are representative. To actually get a tube or other train between the two is not entirely direct, you would probably get on the wrong Hammersmith station at first (there are two), spend five minutes crossing the road to get to the other one. Then at the end a bus or long walk would be needed, so you would soon be in 45 minute territory. The traffic can be mostly ignored if doing the route by bicycle except on the various mini ring roads they have to keep traffic deadly. Hammersmith itself is like a six lane motorway ring road of hell, easy to die on that one. Then at Shepherd's Bush there is that green bit where the traffic just goes round and round very slowly. On the bike you just go straight without getting sent around these merry-go-rounds of car fumes. No idea why anyone would want to drive in such parts of London even though I have had to do it for work myself. It is not even driving, just slowly shunting along, blocking the way for 'serious' road users who care about their time and arriving promptly. As a cyclist I don't see myself as a serious road user, I assume those people in cars have more important journeys than mine so I am deferential to them. Yet, if being prompt matters to you and you do work in London, the bicycle is the only reliable means of getting from A to B in a dependably timely manner. By that definition, those people in their posh cars, inching along, can't really be that serious. If they thought about it properly they would abandon their tin boxes or find better jobs. Travel by car is that silly in London.

davesmith1983 7y ago
Most people are coming from outside of London and what you find is that it is usually quicker to drive in and just sit in the traffic than mess about doing park and rides and then travelling in.
- isostatic 7y ago
  It was far quicker to walk a mile to Twyford station, get the train to Ealing, and the tube to White City (or fast train to Paddington and tube to Shepherds Bush now) than to drive. It was a long time ago, and I don't work in Shepherds Bush any more, but the trip today would be 0835 - leave home 0856 - get slow train to London 0935 - arrive Ealing 0950 - arrive White City 0955 - arrive at office Or 0840 - leave home 0900 - get fast train to London 0932 - arrive Paddington 0950 - arrive White City 0955 - arrive at office Driving was 0800 - leave home 0900 - arrive Hammersmith flyover turnoff 0950 - arrive car park 0955 - arrive at office It was the hammersmith roundabout that was the real killer. The reason I drove in for 10AM (once a week) was because I was on 12-14 hour shifts, and driving home after 10pm was about 50 minutes. Very few people working office hours would drive into London, especially Central London, and parking at stations across the south east is often full by 9AM.
  - davesmith1983 7y ago
    Interesting tbh if it was the same amount of time I would just drive in. Outside of London the train is always slower. I used to live in Manchester and get the train into Stoke. Driving was always faster without exception. Generally it was cheaper as well (I have a crappy old diesel astra that is even cheaper to repair and I will drive it til the wheels fall off).
    - isostatic 7y ago
      All things being equal I'd rather take the train - you can read, work, watch TV The main benefit of driving is not having to wait for a specific train. From where I live in south cheshire, it's quicker to get the train into Manchester than drive (although quicker to drive to Stoke than train). That's with a 0930 arrival in Picadilly Gardens. Same to get to Cardiff, Birmingham and certainly London (2h15 to Euston, vs 2h40 to the M25 with no traffic) If I had to be in Picadilly Gardens for 0900 though it would be faster to drive thanks to the train times.
      - 7y ago