Urban transport in United Kingdom: personal experience
London does not look like a standard compact European city: he is so big that it is impossible to walk on foot. Will definitely need to use urban transport, which, despite his old age, seems close to the perfect. In order not to spend time on the regular purchase of one-time tickets to the regular purchase, it is best to buy a map of the Oster, on which you can ride on all types of transport.
At the checkout highlights the total price: 20 pounds. 15 can be used, and 5 are blocked as a deposit. Leaving the city, you can return the card and get money back.
The advantage of the Map of the Oster is not only that it is amazingly beautiful. The most pleasant thing is that it works on the principle of travel: on day it can not be spent on the trips more than a certain amount, even if you drive on the subway and buses twenty times. From some moment money for travel cease to be written off, the cost of the trip is shielded as "0.00 pounds".
Transport Card in London
In London, we assumed to spend full 6 days, so for us, adults, bought Treversary for 1 week. When buying Trevellion, the Oster card is drawn up, the deposit of 5 pounds is taken for it, which returns when returning the card. Direct itself for a week costs almost 30 pounds. For comparison, just one ride in the metro then cost 4.30 pounds.
When buying tickets at the metro ticket office you can pay the card. When returning cards, deposit is given in cash. Buses in London stop only on demand. T.E. So that the bus you need stopped at the bus stop, you need "vote", and to exit the bus, you need to click on a special button. Once fell into a terrible plug in the center because of the elemental rallies. Buses were forced to change their routes. The driver first announced a speakerphone exactly how the route will change, and then bypassed the entire bus, asking passengers to where to go and say, whether they need to transfer to another bus or you can get to it.
In the London Metro on most stations free WiFi. T.To. we used only urban transport (subway and buses), then about the Oster I tell me more and nothing, though, I know that he can use much more for what.
Prices for London Transport
Price for an unlimited number of travels of the London Metro
Notes on the London Metro
London you will like it. If you do not get into the subway with a strange title pipe at rush hour!
Justa, English inhabitability, coupled with dumpingness, will strike any foreigner, and we will remind the St. Petersburg metro. However, then, then there you hear various sorrics, everything is politely struggling for the place.
At the checkout or in a ticket device you will be sold to your station. but about transplants, the path in the subway, the company name, whose train will be lucky you, will have to guess yourself. And I think not all moves will be correct.
Take care in advance, learn the Internet, feel free to the literally torturing information and will be your way easy.
Know that the train without transplants is crazy road. Remember that the Virgin ticket is not valid on Southern. But valid in the subway.
It is a pity that forget to warn about the height of the ceilings of the pipes of the pipe (subway)! If your height is more than 170 cm, be vigilant and move to the middle of the car, otherwise the measuring trimming of the body will turn into an unlimited tapping of the head. And in the subway too buttons!
And with pleasure, move on the required metro stairs, especially with suitcases, for such an option as an escalator, is practically not provided there, for few engines in the old pipe. And do not worry the width of these most stairs, for everything and all will touch your suitcase. And most importantly – Hold on the left side!
And do not throw away the ticket, otherwise you will have to live in the subway or on the platform, since only this seemingly input, but special people turned into a weekend, a ticket, you will have access to the big world.
Tickets and travel in London and Oxford
London Metro: Day nightmare
Judging by the map, in order to get from Camden-Town to Excel Exhibition Center, you need to get to the city center and transfer to DLR. The site of London transport promised 45 minutes of the road. Well. I did not get less than 1.5 hours, changing 3-4 trains – this is with an alleged transplant!
When the branches are two and troops, you are waiting for 10 minutes, and then he halfway decides to finish his way. Yes, and the scoreboard does not always work.
Haping on the first day in an hour-peak, in the second I decided to avoid it and went for an hour later. Ha! The people – exactly the same, because as soon as the hour-peak ends, the trains go twice as much as: that is, the effect on interpretation is exactly the same, just go even slower.
For two days, I was so fascinated by me that in the morning I went to the exhibition on the District Electric National Rail, and in the evening – on buses through the center. Also stupid and long, but you can look into the window.
The more distinct the London Metro: the number of special people leading. On each platform – 3-4 people shout a finite station of the arrived train, crawled in the submarines of the car windows so that the passengers are not crowded in the door, but they went deep into, and so on. This madness has two advantages: thousands of people are employed, and at the metro stations there are always people who can answer any question in all languages of the world – judging by the color of the skin.
London metro finally finished me on the day of departure. Almost two hours from the hotel to the airport. This time the train on the line, which goes to Heathrow, stood at the stations sometimes minutes 10-15. And this is when the car is packed and, despite the fact that no one has almost entered and did not go out: everyone was brought their bags from the center to the airport.
Fine 50 pounds sterling for one missed stop
Travel and metro tickets in London are quite expensive, but in spite of it almost never hare I did not go. Basically, because the stations and trains themselves often walked the controllers of an evil species, and pay a fine – this is also not always a pleasant occupation. But in one beautiful day, I was minted with a little failure: managed to fall asleep in the train in the early morning, I slept my stop, and after the next, I got into the formidable paws of these most controllers.
An explanation of the situation and showing the available ticket to the previous station, I suggested paying the price difference. But it was not here. Malicious comrades and did not want to listen, and a gloomy fine was shoved as a fullest flasher! I was a shame. I honestly buy a ticket every morning, I suffer all sorts of delays and Cancellations, and here I also want to take such a fine! Not to mention everything about the other claims accumulated from me over the years to english transport. In general, pay a full fine I flatly refused. I have principles or not?
"Well, – said malicious controllers. – Fine We will still drank you, but you don’t need to pay now, you can write to a certain commission where you can appeal our decision". "That’s about, – I said proudly, taking a piece of paper. – That is how I will do". And it should be noted that I come to work and still boiling from indignation, I immediately rolled the letter to this very "Commission".
After some time, I came the answer, a certain John Smith admitted that the transport situation in the country, of course, Far from Perfect, but at the same time the controllers did the right, as there were no tickets before that stop. And what was before the previous one – this is the case of the tenth, so please, please pay a fine as soon as possible. And there is a little font "If you do not agree with this decision, you can appeal it by this address. " "Yeah!!" – I thought. – "Not on that attack!! I will write them again and appealed, but no 50 pounds from the principle will not pay". Yes, this is how I thought, hanging a piece of paper with the address of the magnet to the refrigerator. and safely forgetting about it.
Passed week, the second and, probably, even a month. One Saturday morning I woke me up a doorbell, my signature was required to get some important letter. Sleepily rubbing his eyes and whitening all who early rises on Saturday, I signed up and opened the envelope. "Dear Maria, – said there. – Since you continue to ignore our numerous reminders and do not pay the penalty imposed to you, let me notify you that the case was headed at number 00001111, to consider which you invite you to the Westminster court of this month. If you need legal support, these are phones of lawyers. " My sleep as a hand shot.
Finding the phone for feedback on the reverse side, I immediately called them. "What multiple reminders? -I wondered. – I have not received anything. And I really forgot about this penalty, as I am in the process of challenging. And in general I can not come to the court, since I was going exactly then to lie on the beach in Greece, and not sit in the Westministerovs Court". The young man at the other end of the line was extremely patient, dictating the dates to me when, apparently, I was sent "Numerous reminders". But what a mysticism, because I did not really get them!
And here my opinion was inadvertently fell on the door rug. Which, for some reason, seemed above ordinary, even much higher. I painted a terrible guess. The fact is that in many English homes, the mail is not thrown into the mailbox, but right through the door. Sometimes, when you leave for a long time, the door cannot be discovered due to the mail, advertising and so on. In general, lifting this ill-fated rug, I found a decent stack of letters under it, which my postman could not be seen, but just snapped under the gap. There were not only letters from the transport company, but also 2 bills for water and gas and a nervous letter with the threat of their disconnection for non-payment.
Comrades, I became a little ashamed. An explanation of the whole situation with a young man at the other end of the line, I must say that he behaved quite adequately (not counting quite a long giggling) and agreed to cancel my appearance in court, if the penalty is paid tomorrow. I should not say that I have no longer left for further struggle with the transport company. I was led by my own door rug.
Metro in London: about delays and strikes
I lived in the glorious city of London and worked in the same office, but not in the glamorous area of this glorious city, such as City or Soho, and in the 6th zone. Living in London will not give to sit that it is far from the center. Therefore, I traveled to work every morning from Paddington Station, which was theoritically held to take 20-25 minutes in the train, carried out for reading the morning newspaper and drinking coffee.
Theoritically – this is because in fact, all this went much more than 25 minutes, and less than an hour before work I almost never got. In England, the topic of transport is generally very hotly, because it costs this pleasure very expensive, and the service will eventually turn out absolutely no. Trains do not come on time, they are unexpectedly removed from the route, they are stuck between stations and t.D and T.NS. For example, a few reasons for the desets that I personally had a challenge:
