4 ms·

For people who want to get around cheaply, London has an excellent mass public transport system, between the tube, buses, and intra-city train services.

dasil003 12y ago
You mean if you want to get around quickly. If you want to get around cheaply you need to buy a bicycle (or take a Barclay's bike and keep it under 30 mins).
- vertex-four 12y ago
  By cheaply I meant cheaper than a taxi. There's always a limit to how cheap vehicles powered by electricity or fuel, and which involve human employees, and which use a common causeway (whether that's rail or road), can be. £2 to rent a bicycle for 24 hours seems pretty reasonable, btw. I live in a city where I'd kill for that.
  - dasil003 12y ago
    It's actually £50 to rent a Boris bike for 24 hours. £2 is 24-hour access, but only if you keep the journeys under 30 mins. The £90/year is a pretty good deal actually (even after they doubled it from £45 which it was for the first year), I still pay for it even though I own a bicycle just for the convenience of supplementing my walking speed at will.
    - vertex-four 12y ago
      Ah, that's a bit of a bummer. Still, I might try it out on Sunday to see exactly how far 30 minutes gets me, as I'm there for the weekend and have a free day.
    - penguat 12y ago
      There's also the parking issue: especially in the rush hour, they can be hard to find parking spots for.
- tragic 12y ago
  Really? £1.40 will get you from Lewisham to Newington Green if you're prepared to take a bus[1]. By comparison, back in my lovely hometown of Plymouth, a two and half mile bus hop will set you back 3 quid. (Fortunately, the taxis are cheap.) London transport, for what you get, is great value. And it's definitely better than any other big city I've had the pleasure of visiting. Londoners moan about it, but then no matter how efficient or economically enticing, an urban mass transport system will always be associated in the mind with hellish rush-hour commutes, and thus a germane subject for grumbling. [1] http://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/21 http://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/21
  - dasil003 12y ago
    You're right about buses being cheap if you can get a direct route. However during peak periods that will potentially take hours, easily 2-3 times as long as cycling. I also agree the value of London transport is excellent, but I'm just saying it's not cheap. Especially if you are looking at tube/train/tram/bus transfers it starts to add up shockingly fast. Even with a travelcard I'd be paying £141.40/month which is just too much to swallow when I only have a 6-mile commute and arrive in the same amount of time as the fastest tube. Plus with the crowds, disruptions, strikes, "persons under a train" and other random commuter trauma I just can't say enough good things about cycling in London.
    - makomk 12y ago
      It's cheap compared to the rest of the country. Outside of London it's barely worth thinking about taking buses even if there's a direct one. Hell, I've taken a bus that literally dropped me on the doorstep of where I was going and regretted it - the bus was so irregular it'd have been quicker to walk and the tickets overpriced.
stuaxo 12y ago
Buses and trains are not exactly cheap, and trains stop at about 12.
- vertex-four 12y ago
  They're certainly cheaper than any taxi I've ever taken in my life.

dasil003 12y ago

You mean if you want to get around quickly. If you want to get around cheaply you need to buy a bicycle (or take a Barclay's bike and keep it under 30 mins).

vertex-four 12y ago
By cheaply I meant cheaper than a taxi. There's always a limit to how cheap vehicles powered by electricity or fuel, and which involve human employees, and which use a common causeway (whether that's rail or road), can be. £2 to rent a bicycle for 24 hours seems pretty reasonable, btw. I live in a city where I'd kill for that.
- dasil003 12y ago
  It's actually £50 to rent a Boris bike for 24 hours. £2 is 24-hour access, but only if you keep the journeys under 30 mins. The £90/year is a pretty good deal actually (even after they doubled it from £45 which it was for the first year), I still pay for it even though I own a bicycle just for the convenience of supplementing my walking speed at will.
  - vertex-four 12y ago
    Ah, that's a bit of a bummer. Still, I might try it out on Sunday to see exactly how far 30 minutes gets me, as I'm there for the weekend and have a free day.
  - penguat 12y ago
    There's also the parking issue: especially in the rush hour, they can be hard to find parking spots for.
tragic 12y ago
Really? £1.40 will get you from Lewisham to Newington Green if you're prepared to take a bus[1]. By comparison, back in my lovely hometown of Plymouth, a two and half mile bus hop will set you back 3 quid. (Fortunately, the taxis are cheap.) London transport, for what you get, is great value. And it's definitely better than any other big city I've had the pleasure of visiting. Londoners moan about it, but then no matter how efficient or economically enticing, an urban mass transport system will always be associated in the mind with hellish rush-hour commutes, and thus a germane subject for grumbling. [1] http://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/21 http://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/21
- dasil003 12y ago
  You're right about buses being cheap if you can get a direct route. However during peak periods that will potentially take hours, easily 2-3 times as long as cycling. I also agree the value of London transport is excellent, but I'm just saying it's not cheap. Especially if you are looking at tube/train/tram/bus transfers it starts to add up shockingly fast. Even with a travelcard I'd be paying £141.40/month which is just too much to swallow when I only have a 6-mile commute and arrive in the same amount of time as the fastest tube. Plus with the crowds, disruptions, strikes, "persons under a train" and other random commuter trauma I just can't say enough good things about cycling in London.
  - makomk 12y ago
    It's cheap compared to the rest of the country. Outside of London it's barely worth thinking about taking buses even if there's a direct one. Hell, I've taken a bus that literally dropped me on the doorstep of where I was going and regretted it - the bus was so irregular it'd have been quicker to walk and the tickets overpriced.

stuaxo 12y ago

Buses and trains are not exactly cheap, and trains stop at about 12.

vertex-four 12y ago
They're certainly cheaper than any taxi I've ever taken in my life.