The American’s Guide to London Transport

London Transport (www.tfl.gov.uk) provides a unique and useful service to its passengers: a journey planner that will help you get from point A to point B, offering you alternate routes and modes of transportation.You can choose from tube, bus and pedestrian options.The planner will tell you which lines and routes to take, and estimate how long it will take you to get there.Perfect for those getting to know the city, as well as those seasoned veterans who want to reach their destination faster.Now if only American subway systems would do they same.

Always have an alternative route

The Underground, as convenient as it is for getting around the metro London area, has a fatal flaw: there are often days when one or more lines is shut down for hours at a time, due to signal problems or line repairs.It is essential to know two, if not three, ways to get to your destination.Always be prepared to take an alternative route – sometimes you won’t know until you’re at the station that the Hammersmith and City line is closed, and you’ll need to either switch lines or hop on a bus to get to that important meeting.Become familiar with the tube, commuter rail and bus lines that can get you to and from work, home or school, if you’re in London long-term, as you may have to get creative last minute to get around.Tourists generally have less to worry about: when one line is shutdown, there is always another fast, easy way to get to all the top tourist destinations.

Silence is Golden

You can always spot an American on the tube: they’re the ones talking.Londoners are notoriously quiet during their commute; most choose to either stare quietly at their hands, or, more likely, to read a newspaper or book.If you’re enthusing loudly about fish and chips in your New York/mid-Western/Southern accent, you’ll receive stares, ranging from shocked to extremely annoyed.That’s not saying you can’t talk on the tube, just keep the volume down!

Stay clear of the doors

In the New York subway, if you’re trying to catch a departing train, sticking your hand in the closing doors will do the trick – you can pry them open just enough to squeeze through.In Boston, obliging T drivers will often keep the doors open for dashing passengers.This is not the case in London!When the doors start to close, nothing, particularly not your limbs, can stop them.Be careful when charging through tube doors, and once you’re on, stand clear of the doors – many a careless passenger has been whacked in the head, to the point of minor injury.Nevermind Mind the Gap, mind your head!

Walk this way

If you’ve ever seen a James Bond movie, you know that those funny Brits drive on the wrong side of the road (or, simply, the left).In keeping with their traffic habits, they also walk on the left, particularly on escalators and in the underground walkways dividing the tube lines.If you walk on the wrong side (in this case the right!), you’ll get a lot of dirty looks, and may get shoved out of the way.More important than just walking etiquette, is riding etiquette.Londoners in a hurry like to walk up escalators, instead of taking a leisurely joyride.So: walk on the left, stand on the right.I repeat: walk on the left, stand on the right.

Speedy Gonzales

Europeans do not walk; they do not stride; they speed walk. Everywhere.Practice walking at a lightening pace, and you may be able to catch up!Just always remember, both on the streets and in the subways, that this pedestrian culture is always in a hurry to get going – hustle a little and you’ll fit right in!

Like you’re hailing a cabâÂ?¦

Many Americans are startled, upon riding the bus for the first time, that getting on the bus in the first place is the hardest part of the battle.It is a common thing to see a confused American standing at a bus stop, as the bus he or she intended to catch whips past them.The big secret?You have to flag the bus down, just as you would a taxi.As you see the bus approach, step to the curb and throw your hand out, indicating that you would like it to stop.It’s that easy.If you’d like to get off the bus, don’t forget to ring the stop request button, or you’ll have to get off at the next stop and back-track.

For night owls

Like its American cousin New York, London never sleeps.Well, kind of.The tube shuts down at 12:30 most nights, but 24-hour buses within the city’s center keep the movers and shakers provided for, no matter the time of night.To find the night bus to suit your Saturday night party binge, check your route on the London transport website, or go to the nearest bus stop and look for any bus number with either the 24 hours symbol by it or the letter N (for Night).You may have to change night buses several times to reach your final destination, but it’s well worth it for the post-opera dinner or clubbing adventure.Just watch out for the drunken partygoers who frequent the lines, or you may end up with vomit on your shoes.

Oyster etiquette

If you’ll be in London more permanently, getting an Oyster card is your best option for easy London travel.All London subway stations and buses use the Oyster touch card system – you charge anywhere from one to three months riding time on your card, and simply touch it to the round yellow card reader to get through the turnstiles.It may sound self-explanatory, but have your card ready!The system was implemented to keep people moving fast, so nothing’s more annoying than someone riffling through their purse to find it while everyone else waits.Also, when recharging your Oyster card, please use the handy Oyster ATMs located at the front of your station.Going through the line to a teller will only hold up those passengers with more pressing business.

Mind the Gap (but not really)

Everyone likes to come back from London with a “Mind the Gap” logo T-shirt or bag, but most people don’t realize that, when on the London tube, you no longer need to mind the gap, not really.In the late 19th and early 20th century, tube cars had doors that swung outward, and any careless passenger could get whacked in the face if he didn’t mind the gap.He might, also, get a foot caught between the car and platform, and seriously injure himself.But, nowadays, most tube platforms are gap-free, thanks to the new mono-rail style cars, and state-of-the-art sliding door platforms, as seen in the Westminster tube station.But, for the sake of being nostalgic, the phrase is still used.Just thought you might like to know!