LMS_Transport

London has one of the oldest transport systems in the world and the commuter is certainly starting to feel the cracks appearing in the system due to the massive passenger flow-through. Everything considered, it will still get you from point A to B, but not always without a few swearwords.

Tubes

The tubes might not provide the least congested, clean, non-smelly experience that you will have in your life, but they do provide a fairly reliable and efficient service for millions of commuters daily. Tubes run 20 hours per day and serve basically all parts of London.

Don't be fooled; you will use tubes for most of your time in London and you will get very confused during the first few days. The following might help you to get into the swing of things as soon as possible, thus saving you some time and money:

Getting it right from the start

•Get an Underground map as soon as possible.

•Familiarise yourself with the zones, and don't buy tickets that include zones you are not travelling to – they will cost more. A One-Day Travelcard will give you unlimited travel for that day in the specific zones for which the ticket is applicable. If your flight lands early (before 09h30 on weekdays, when a One-Day Travelcard is still more expensive), it is best to buy a Weekly Travelcard. It will save you money in the long run anyway. For this just go to the travel information desk. (You will need an ID photo)

•If you are not sure where you are going on your first day, it would be best to buy a One-Day Travelcard - try avoiding zones 3-6.

Always follow directions and especially look out for:

•Name of the line.

•Colour of the line.

•Direction of line. A platform for a line will either be North- or Southbound OR East- or Westbound indicating the general direction the train will go, so if you know your destination is e.g. north from the station where you currently are and on e.g. the Bakerloo line, follow the Bakerloo, Northbound signs – it helps a great deal!

Some lines split, e.g. the Central line. It is very important to look at the final destination of the train that is displayed on the front carriage of the train approaching. Make sure that your destination is on the route that the train will take to its end destination. Don't panic – if it's not the first train it will probably be the next.

Avoid buying tickets on Monday mornings at any station – queues are very long.

Other useful things to keep in mind about the tubes

•At rush hour the first few and last few carriages are usually less congested

•Rush hours are normally considered to be 08h00-09h30 and 17h00-18h00, Mondays to Fridays

•Walk left in corridors – stand right on escalators

•Let passengers off the train first before you get onto the train

•The Underground is pickpocket-haven. Be careful

•The last trains usually carry a guard for safety reasons

•Fares will be displayed at all stations

•Smoking is not permitted on the Underground.

If you want to hit the town at night, just remember the last trains run at 12h00-12h30, and if you fall asleep on the train, nobody will wake you and you might end up on the outskirts of London having to find your way back home (it happens a lot!!). If you are lucky you might find a night bus or otherwise you'll have to take a taxi, which will probably make this one of your more expensive nights out.

About the zone system

The public transport network is divided into a series of concentric zones; ticket prices depend on the zones passed through during a journey. To confuse matters, there's a different zoning system depending on the type of transport. The Tube, Rail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) network operates on a system of six zones, with Zone 1 being the most central. The Buses themselves don't reduce this to four zones, though Zones 1, 2, and 3 are the same as for the Tube. (Tube Zones 4, 5, and 6 are rolled together into Bus Zone 4.) Almost everything of interest to visitors is found in Zones 1 and 2.

Travel Passes

Unless you are planning on walking or taking taxis around London, you're almost bound to save money by investing in one of London's range of travel passes. Passes work on the Zone system (see previous page): note that any pass including Zone 4 will be valid throughout the entire bus Zone 4, but will only cover other journeys up to the validity of the last zone covered. (So a Zone 1-4 pass will cover all bus routes in London, but Tube services only up to the Tube Zone 4 boundary.) Passes can be purchased at Tube, DLR, and commuter rail stations. Avoid ticket touts hawking second-hand One-Day Travelcards, LT Cards and Bus Passes; you might save a few pounds, but there's no guarantee the ticket will work. More importantly it's illegal, penalties are stiff and the Tube authorities have been cracking down on offenders.

Valid for bus, tube, DLR and commuter rail services. There are 2 types of One-Day Travelcards: "Peak" cards (valid from midnight) and "Off-Peak" cards (valid from midnight Sat-Sun, but Mon-Fri from 9h30am). Both "Peak" and "Off-Peak" Travelcards are valid until 4h30am the morning after the printed expiration date. Adult Fare: Zones 1-2 Peak £5.30, Off-Peak £4.10; Zones 1-4 £6.80/£4.40; Zones 1-6 £10.50/£5.

(Note: All passes expire at 4h30 the morning after the printed expiration date.)

LT Cards

LT Cards are just like Peak Day Travelcards, except they're not valid on commuter rail services. The only type available is for all 6 zones, which means you're only likely to use one when heading to and from Heathrow, for which it's cheaper than a Peak Day Travelcard. Adult Fare: Zones 1-6 £7.90.

Carnet

A book of 10 singles for a Tube journey starting and finishing in Zone 1 only. It cannot be used as extensions, nor can you purchase extensions for them. Each ticket must be validated at the station before you use it; failure to do so counts as fare evasion. Cheaper than buying individual singles, but unless you plan to do a lot of walking, a Travelcard is probably a better idea. Adult Fare: £11.50.

Weekend Travelcards

Valid 2 consecutive days: Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Adult Fare: Zones 1-2 £6.10: 1-4 £6.60: 1-6 £7.50: 2-6 £5.20.

Season Tickets

Weekly, monthly and annual Travelcards can be bought at any time and are valid for 7 days, 1 month, or 1 year respectively from the date of purchase. Matching Photocard required, free from Tube stations with an ID photo. Adult Rate: Zone 1 only £16.20 weekly, £62.30 monthly. Adult Rate: Zones 1-2 £19.30 weekly, £74.20 monthly.

Bus Passes

Since Tube passes include access to the bus, buy a bus pass only if you won't be using the Tube.

•One-Day Bus Pass: Adult £2 all Zones.

•Weekly Bus Passes: Adult £8.50 all Zones.

•Tickets must be bought at the start of your journey and are valid only for the day of purchase (including return tickets, but excluding carnets). Keep your ticket for the entire journey; it will be checked on the way out and may be checked at any time. There's a £10 on-the-spot fine for travelling without a valid ticket.

•You will save considerably if you buy a Weekly Travelcard!

Docklands Light Railway

This system is part of the tube system and Travelcards are therefore valid on the DLR trains. It looks a bit spooky at first since it has no driver, but it is a good complement to the tube system for the south-eastern region of London. It runs from Bank or Tower Gateway to Stratford, Beckton and down to the Isle of Dogs to Island Gardens. The DLR operates Mon-Fri 5h15am-12h30am, Sat. and holidays 6am-12h30am, and Sun. 7h30am-11h30pm.

More numbers in Directory

Red Buses

London buses were first painted red in 1929. Today more than 5 000 buses operate on more than 500 routes in London. Most parts of the city and suburbs are therefore covered quite effectively and provide vital transport for those areas that are not close to a tube station. It is also a good way to see London and get your bearings above ground. You will sometimes be amazed to see how close you are to a place when you go by bus, while it may take much longer with the tube. On the tube map (which is not drawn in complete relation to direction and distances) some destinations might look further than they really are. Familiarise yourself with the bus routes, which will help a great deal in effective travelling. It is also important to know that you can use your one-day travel card on any LT bus, except on night buses.

There are more than 17 000 bus stops in London, so you will always be close to one. There are two kinds of bus stops:

•Compulsory – The bus will always stop unless it's full;

•Request Stop – You have to put your hand out to show the driver you want to get on the bus / you have to ring the bell if you are on the bus and you want to get off at the next stop.

•Night buses call from Trafalgar Square and will have an N before the route number. Night buses typically operate the same route as their daytime equivalents, but occasionally start and finish at different points. Many routes start from Trafalgar Square. Most night buses operate every 30 or 60 minutes, midnight to 5h30am, when they revert to being pumpkins.

•Night buses treat all stops as Request Stops and One-Day Travelcards are not accepted on night buses. Weekly and Monthly Travelcards are accepted.

•The bus network is divided into 2 fare zones:

•Luggage should be guarded carefully – this is also pickpocket-haven.

If you fall asleep on a night bus and you miss your destination, you might be required to buy another ticket. Falling asleep on a night bus, which happens often, always causes a hassle - so it’s best to try and stay awake. Bacchus is normally the culprit in the story.

Bus Routes

Commuter Boats

Chelsea Harbour › Cadogan (Chelsea Embankment) Embankment

Limited rush-hour service. Monday-Friday only, excluding bank holidays. Fares: Single £4.00. Return £8.00. No discount to Travelcard holders on this route. Buy tickets on board. For details contact the service operator, Riverside Launches. Tel: +44 (0)20 7352 5888

Savoy › Canary Wharf › Masthouse Terrace

Additional stops: Blackfriars, Bankside, London Bridge City, St Katherine’s, Canary Wharf and Greenland. This luxury service operated by Thames Clippers runs roughly every 30 minutes at peak times and hourly otherwise until approximately 20h00. Fares: Adult Single £1.80-£3.00. Adult Return £2.40-£5.00. Travelcard discount available. Child/Freedom Pass Single £0.90-£1.50 and Return £1.20–£2.50. Buy tickets on board with exact money.

Hilton Docklands › Canary Wharf Shuttle

Although not strictly speaking a commuter service, this frequent short-haul ferry service operated by Thames Clippers connects the Hilton to Canary Wharf and other boat services. Fares: Adult Single £1.80. Adult Return £3.40. Child/Freedom Pass £0.90-£1.70. Buy tickets on board.

Contact numbers for Charter Operators in Directory

Black Cabs

London black cabs are justifiably famous. The Knowledge - the exam to become a cabbie - takes years of study and has been actually shown on scans to increase brain size, such is the amount of geographical information needed. That said, many cabbies dislike going south of the river and their knowledge seems to become a little hazy south of the Elephant & Castle. Fares are more economical if you share. To go from one end of London to the other should cost about £25, shorter rides are about £8.

London taxi fares are the most expensive in the world, and go up after 20h00. Taxi drivers make £70K/$100K a year at least, so don't tip them unless you earn significantly more then they do. This is not an advisable way to travel, because they are so expensive, but at some stage you might have to use them.

•Fares start at £1.40 and increase by 20p per minute up to £8.60, then by 20 p every 30 seconds.

•Rates go up on weekends, holidays and late-nights. A fact not many people are aware of is that the longer your journey, the more expensive it will become per determined distance (and time) you travel (after about 10 kilometres). The clock therefore actually starts ‘ticking a bit faster’ then.

•If the yellow “for hire” light is on you can flag them down.

•The cab-drivers know London inside out - if you're lost ask them; they might not be friendly, but they might help.

•Cabbies don't like it if you eat messy food or consume drinks in their cab, even less if you get sick in their cab. If this happens, you might have to pay up a few pounds extra. Remember it's like a home to them. Sick but true.

•If you honestly feel that that the driver deserves a tip on top of the heavy rate, do so, but remember it is not compulsory.

•A black cab takes 4-5 passengers.

•Cabs can be booked by telephone, but this can be more expensive.

Next page - Mini Cabs / Trains / Travel Information / Travel Discounts / Coach Operators / Airports