Getting Around Town

THE LONDON UNDERGROUND

The first underground railway system in the world was in London. It opened in 1863 and ran 4 miles (6.5 kilometres) from the west of London to the City in the east. The first lines were built close to the surface and used steam trains. They then built deeper tunnels and the electric underground railway opened in 1890. This system was called the Tube, still the most popular name for the London Underground. Some of the tube stations are so deep that they were used as air-raid shelters during the Second World War when hundreds of families would spend the night in the stations.

One million people commute into central London every day. Sixty per cent of these people use the Tube, mainly because the London Underground system extends far into the suburbs: the Northern Line, running from north to south, covers 18 miles (28 kilometres); the Piccadilly Line, running from east to west is 47 miles (76 kilometres) long.

TAXIS

London taxis drive round the centre of the city looking for a custom. Taxis are often called cabs, from the French word cabriolet, which is a nineteenth-century word for a coach drawn by a horse.London taxis are also called black cabs.

Traditional taxi-drivers, or cabbies, are proud of their knowledge of London. They have to know every street in the 113 square miles of central London and spend up to four years learning the best routes. To get their licence, they have to pass a series of tests, known as «The Knowledge», until they are absolutely accurate in their answers. Because of this long training period, cabbies are often angry that people can drive minicabs without a licence. Minicabs look like normal cars, do not have meters and cannot pick up people in the street: people have to phone for one.

THE DOUBLE-DECKER BUS

Most London buses are red. In one year, London's buses travel 163 million miles. That is all the way to the Sun and 3/4 of the way back! Buses in London are not as popular as the Tube because they get stuck in traffic. London traffic now moves at an average of 6 miles per hour, the same speed as when there were horse-drawn coaches.

COACHES

Coaches are long-distance buses. Travelling by coach is cheaper than by train: most tickets cost 70 per cent of the equivalent train fare. Because of the difference in price, about 10.5 million people a year use the coach. Coaches go to more remote or isolated places than trains.

ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF TRANSPORT

One of the most popular forms of urban transport in Britain used to be the tram. They were first used in London in 1861, but they were all replaced by buses after 1945. Trams, however, are making a comeback. South Yorkshire has a 19-mile (30-kilometre) Supertram network which opened in 1994. Manchester, too, uses trams as part of its Metrolink system, while many other cities are considering alternatives to buses. The first section of the Manchester Metrolink opened in 1992. It has reduced car trips by an estimated 1 million a year.

The most environmentally friendly vehicle is a bicycle, but cycling in Britain can be dangerous as there are not many bicycle lanes in British cities. Many drivers do not realise that there are cyclists on the roads: cyclists, like pedestrians, are almost as likely to be killed or injured as motorists. This is why an increasing number of cyclists wear helmets and fluorescent clothing.

ON THE ROAD

The British love their cars: over 66 per cent of families own one or more cars and 23 per cent have the use of two or more. Statistics show that people are using their cars more. In 1965, people in Britain travelled 70 miles (112 kilometres) a week by car. In 1990, people travelled an average of 124 miles (200 kilometres) a week by car. According to the Department of transport, traffic on all roads will double during the next 30 years.

It is not surprising that the car is becoming increasingly popular. If you want to travel from London to Oxford by train, a return ticket for one person costs four times as much as the petrol for a car which can take you and three friends.

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