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25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

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Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#21

Post by TheChaplain »

switch007 wrote: post #6

It’s hard not to think Londoners are entitled and ungrateful. No other part of the country has ever had so much spent on mass transit nor will it ever. They have the finest public transport in the entire UK, and always will. I bet you can’t regularly do 1-40 mile journeys at the same speed and cost regularly anywhere else in the UK. The media recently tried to make out the Elizabeth line was one of the worst services…

Well, London have over 8m people compared to second on the list, Birminghamn with slightly over 2m.

It's pretty obvious you need to spend a ton on public commuting options to avoid a chaotic hell during morning/evening rush (it's already chaos, but it could be much worse).

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#22

Post by alexfoo »

eptcyka wrote: post #13
Theodores wrote: post #11

As a cyclist, familiar with riding from Paddington to an office, the comparative times are of great interest. I cycled ten miles from Paddington due north on the A5 Roman Road. The bicycle, naturally aspirated with no motor nonsense, was competitive going north, it took me to my destination quicker and more reliably. I just went into Google Maps and checked what the ride time would be going to Whitechapel. The bicycl…

Shouldn't you add another 10-15 minutes to your bike ride for having a mandatory shower at the end of the ride?

No (well not in my case) as if I wasn't cycle commuting I'd be having a shower at home before going in to work. All cycle commuting did was move my shower from home to work, it doesn't add an extra shower and so doesn't add any extra time.

I did shower again after cycling home, but that often replaced the shower I'd have before going to bed (or after coming back from the gym) so, again, no increase in the number of showers in a day.

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#23

Post by virtualritz »

switch007 wrote: post #6

It’s hard not to think Londoners are entitled and ungrateful. No other part of the country has ever had so much spent on mass transit nor will it ever. They have the finest public transport in the entire UK, and always will. I bet you can’t regularly do 1-40 mile journeys at the same speed and cost regularly anywhere else in the UK. The media recently tried to make out the Elizabeth line was one of the worst services…

> They have the finest public transport in the entire UK, [...]

It's all relative. If you compared this with Japan's public transport system, 'fine' would not be a word you'd use to describe the one in London.

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#24

Post by kergonath »

switch007 wrote: post #6

It’s hard not to think Londoners are entitled and ungrateful. No other part of the country has ever had so much spent on mass transit nor will it ever. They have the finest public transport in the entire UK, and always will. I bet you can’t regularly do 1-40 mile journeys at the same speed and cost regularly anywhere else in the UK. The media recently tried to make out the Elizabeth line was one of the worst services…

> No other part of the country has ever had so much spent on mass transit nor will it ever.

This entirely true and very unfortunate. It is great to see Manchester making improvements on that front, for example, and I hope many cities will follow as the current model is absurd. Franchising like in London is not ideal but a marked improvement.

That said, there aren’t many places in the UK where a single train line can affect hundreds of thousands or a million people each week. Up to a point, improving transport around London is the best bang for your quid.

> Try living up North where hourly trains regularly get cancelled.

Yeah, but that’s a reason to improve the situation in the North, not to rejoice when something breaks down in the South. There are massive political issues to overcome for that, but the UK would be a better country overall if the North was taken seriously.

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#25

Post by djtango »

switch007 wrote: post #19
djtango wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fully appreciate where you're coming from and everything you've said is true. But I feel like your opinion may differ if you lived on the south end of the Northern line and had to commute during summer. Doubly so if you were slightly shorter and had to spend your daily commute with your face in someone else's sweaty armpit... The truth of many parts of London commuting is it's really quite unpleasant in many ways a…

I do get it. While I haven’t commuted, I’ve travelled many, many times around London including rush hour. Have smelled many armpits on the tube and even worn earplugs on the central line. (I have commuted in another European city however) But London is a victim of its own success. It will always be hot busy and crowded. This is just like almost every other major city in the world - hot, crowded public transport at ru…

Fair enough I don't really disagree with your overall point. Although there's taking the tube and then there's the Northern line where I've heard people going in the opposite direction to get upstream of the queues to get on...

Hopefully remote working will take some of the pressure off of the city because it really does feel overcrowded. Although personally I probably would still stay near London given it's both where I was born but also having access to international food and Heathrow are quite important as a third culture kid. I've considered moving out to somewhere much leafier but losing access to decent Asian food might be my undoing. That said, I hear Liverpool and Manchester are not bad in that department...

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#26

Post by djtango »

benjaminwootton wrote: post #17
clarkdave wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, the interchanges can be quite arduous, as it tends to be very deep, and usually quite a trek from the other lines in that station. This also means it can take a good chunk of time to even get to or from the platform. For example, if you wanted to go from Farringdon to Liverpool St, Google Maps would suggest using the Elizabeth line, but, in practice, it's usually better to use the sub-surface lines (Metropoli…

It’s probably faster to walk from Farringdon to Liverpool Street!

Ha yes it does tickle me that the platform to "Farringdon" spans from Farringdon to Barbican!

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#27

Post by switch007 »

virtualritz wrote: post #23
switch007 wrote: post #6

It’s hard not to think Londoners are entitled and ungrateful. No other part of the country has ever had so much spent on mass transit nor will it ever. They have the finest public transport in the entire UK, and always will. I bet you can’t regularly do 1-40 mile journeys at the same speed and cost regularly anywhere else in the UK. The media recently tried to make out the Elizabeth line was one of the worst services…

> They have the finest public transport in the entire UK, [...] It's all relative. If you compared this with Japan's public transport system, 'fine' would not be a word you'd use to describe the one in London.

Totally but it’s the correct comparison to make. Most people can move to other parts of the UK, not to Japan

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#28

Post by alexfoo »

Theodores wrote: post #11

As a cyclist, familiar with riding from Paddington to an office, the comparative times are of great interest. I cycled ten miles from Paddington due north on the A5 Roman Road. The bicycle, naturally aspirated with no motor nonsense, was competitive going north, it took me to my destination quicker and more reliably. I just went into Google Maps and checked what the ride time would be going to Whitechapel. The bicycl…

Absolutely agree.

I did a 7 mile each way cycle commute in London for many many years. Absolutely loved it.

Reliable, consistent travel times, and never affected by train/tube strikes. The number of times I was delayed by a puncture or other mechanical was way less than the number of times I was delayed by random public transport problems.

I was so much fitter when I was doing it, especially when I built up to doing the occasional commute running. (Cycle in, leave extra clothes at work, run home, run in the next day, cycle home.)

I miss it now that I WFH. I know I can just go out and do a similar type of ride but it's just too easy not to. It was much easier to set off to work in the rain by bike as I knew I had to get there and going by train/tube was even more miserable.

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#29

Post by switch007 »

TheChaplain wrote: post #21
switch007 wrote: post #6

It’s hard not to think Londoners are entitled and ungrateful. No other part of the country has ever had so much spent on mass transit nor will it ever. They have the finest public transport in the entire UK, and always will. I bet you can’t regularly do 1-40 mile journeys at the same speed and cost regularly anywhere else in the UK. The media recently tried to make out the Elizabeth line was one of the worst services…

Well, London have over 8m people compared to second on the list, Birminghamn with slightly over 2m. It's pretty obvious you need to spend a ton on public commuting options to avoid a chaotic hell during morning/evening rush (it's already chaos, but it could be much worse).

That’s an argument for spending elsewhere, not London. London is already busy and crowded.

I’m pretty tired of this belief that it wasn’t investment that made London the economic giant it is - it infects even the DfT and treasury. Invest properly in other cities and they will be equally prosperous.

Re: 25% of the 13 minute journey from Whitechapel to Paddington is spent not moving

#30

Post by gambiting »

switch007 wrote: post #6

It’s hard not to think Londoners are entitled and ungrateful. No other part of the country has ever had so much spent on mass transit nor will it ever. They have the finest public transport in the entire UK, and always will. I bet you can’t regularly do 1-40 mile journeys at the same speed and cost regularly anywhere else in the UK. The media recently tried to make out the Elizabeth line was one of the worst services…

Newcastle here - yep, you wait for a bus to get to work and it just doesn't arrive. That isn't once in a blue moon thing, it's a regular daily thing to a point where you literally can't rely on public transport to get to work or to school.
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