Transport in London
29 August 2010
It is easy to get around London, even by walking. The many parks make for scenic views and bumble bee stings but when the weather is nice there is no better place to be in London. If you need to get about fast you can take a cab, bus, train, or the tube. In addition to this you can use the National Rail service and the Docklands Light Railway. Many options are open to you.
If that were not complicated enough, now you have to pay for all of this. That’s easy too. Please take a look at other pages under Transport in London for more detailed information. Along with that are documents on the different types of passes available to you.
How that I have just told you how easy it is to scurry about the town, let me give you some reasons to be concerned. When Transport of London closes a bus stop for one reason or another, they don't tell you where the next nearest stop is. On one my voyages back to my hotel one evening they closed two consecutive stops, which left me walking a good portion of my route. As stops are far apart you could wear out a bit of shoe leather as this case took me about half a mile. The buggers.
Bus stops have maps and route finders, which makes finding your bus number and stop easy. Provided it is during daylight hours and not raining. Stops are not always well lighted at night and the information you are looking for may be hard to read. One would do well to carry a torch.
On a good note: Buses announce approaching stops and the underground system does so on inside the trains. Overhead signs on the platforms give the time the next trains are coming and many bus stops also do this. Getting around is easy but knowing your stop, especially on a bus can be nerve wrecking at times.
Journey Planner
Transport for London publishes a map in paper form and as a PDF that shows the routes stations of the tube system. The paper map is what is usually fond printed in books, magazines and other documents. It can be picked up at any tube station. This is commonly referred to as a journey planner. TfL also has a page on their site entitled Journey Planner (in Getting Around) so you can find how to get from one station to anther and the cost.