4 ms·

Would be interested to see a similar visualization for major European cities. As someone living in London I would be very surprised if public transport isn't qu

Would be interested to see a similar visualization for major European cities. As someone living in London I would be very surprised if public transport isn't quicker on average.

adaml_623 4y ago
I think it's undeniable that journeys in to, out of, or around central London are faster on public transport if you're going along one of the main routes. But there are lots of journeys outside of the centre, either sideways or diagonal, that are very awkward and slow on public transport. My problem is that I have very little data or intuitive feel for how the 8 million people in London actually move during the average day
- nicoburns 4y ago
  My experience is that it’s common for people to meet in central London (and/or to have loca friends in the area you live) for this reason. Houses and workplaces are usually coordinated to minimise travel time (although there’s been a huge increase in homeworking since covid which is reducing the need for this).
ageitgey 4y ago
My experience in London is that it just depends on where you are going. - Local neighborhood? Walking or cycling is fastest - Next high street over? Bus or cycling is fastest - Most places in central London? Tube or train is fastest - That neighborhood a mile away that inexplicably has bad bus connections to you but you need to go because that's where the vet/store/whatever you need to visit is? Driving is often the best way, especially if you need to carry something. Cycling is pretty good, too. - That village 30 miles away? Driving or train (depending on your train line connections) - Full-size Ikea in Wembley? Driving (pretty hard to get there any other way) and you are probably going to want to bring something back - Mini-Ikea in Hammersmith? Take the Underground, driving wouldn't even really be possible Overall, I end up driving fairly rarely to never except for vacations or home repair type stuff. But having a multitude of transit options is really nice and most daily activities just require walking or quick local bus rides. I'm as pro-public-transit and cycling as they come, but there are definitely some types of trips where cars make sense. But I probably only drive 2-3 times a month vs. multiple times a day in the US. Zip cars are fairly omnipresent around London, so you don't need to own a car to drive those rare trips.
- matsemann 4y ago
  Same experience here in Oslo. With the different rent-a-car-by-hour companies popping up, I'll just rent a car for a few hours every now and then. I could do that like 10 times a month and it would probably be cheaper still than owning a car, most people don't realize how much it actually costs. Sharing a car like this makes so much sense.
  - orwin 4y ago
    Yeah, i do that too, but sadly i'm in a fairly touristic city and in summer it become very hard to find available vehicle.

Would be interested to see a similar visualization for major European cities. As someone living in London I would be very surprised if public transport isn't quicker on average.

adaml_623 4y ago

I think it's undeniable that journeys in to, out of, or around central London are faster on public transport if you're going along one of the main routes. But there are lots of journeys outside of the centre, either sideways or diagonal, that are very awkward and slow on public transport. My problem is that I have very little data or intuitive feel for how the 8 million people in London actually move during the average day

nicoburns 4y ago
My experience is that it’s common for people to meet in central London (and/or to have loca friends in the area you live) for this reason. Houses and workplaces are usually coordinated to minimise travel time (although there’s been a huge increase in homeworking since covid which is reducing the need for this).

ageitgey 4y ago

My experience in London is that it just depends on where you are going. - Local neighborhood? Walking or cycling is fastest - Next high street over? Bus or cycling is fastest - Most places in central London? Tube or train is fastest - That neighborhood a mile away that inexplicably has bad bus connections to you but you need to go because that's where the vet/store/whatever you need to visit is? Driving is often the best way, especially if you need to carry something. Cycling is pretty good, too. - That village 30 miles away? Driving or train (depending on your train line connections) - Full-size Ikea in Wembley? Driving (pretty hard to get there any other way) and you are probably going to want to bring something back - Mini-Ikea in Hammersmith? Take the Underground, driving wouldn't even really be possible Overall, I end up driving fairly rarely to never except for vacations or home repair type stuff. But having a multitude of transit options is really nice and most daily activities just require walking or quick local bus rides. I'm as pro-public-transit and cycling as they come, but there are definitely some types of trips where cars make sense. But I probably only drive 2-3 times a month vs. multiple times a day in the US. Zip cars are fairly omnipresent around London, so you don't need to own a car to drive those rare trips.

matsemann 4y ago
Same experience here in Oslo. With the different rent-a-car-by-hour companies popping up, I'll just rent a car for a few hours every now and then. I could do that like 10 times a month and it would probably be cheaper still than owning a car, most people don't realize how much it actually costs. Sharing a car like this makes so much sense.
- orwin 4y ago
  Yeah, i do that too, but sadly i'm in a fairly touristic city and in summer it become very hard to find available vehicle.