Illumination | London | Public Transport | Society
The London Underground Is Merciless
Deal with it.
I never understood why the London Underground (by Transport for London AKA TFL) was so… complicated. Until I did work experience at an investment firm in Central London — and for most of the week I was more worried about using public transport than actually doing work experience.
Fast pace
In the tube stations, everyone works at an ultra-fast pace. Everyone is walking fast, people have places to go to with little time. If you arrive at the ticket barriers, you must have your payment method ready otherwise you will cause congestion & some angry shouting behind you.
If you end up falling dramatically on the ground, you must return to standing in 2 seconds and continue walking as if nothing happened.
By the time you passed the ticket barriers, your desired train would’ve already arrived (not that it would always arrive then) and you’ll need to have rushed in it seconds before closure. It’s weird — almost every time I get to the station my desired train somehow arrives.
If your payment method declines after 1–3 tries, walk off otherwise the people behind will get agitated by the congestion.
