Hacker News Reader

Comment by drcongo | Hacker News Reader

I live in London, three weeks ago I drove (more than 1hr) 4 miles into the town centre.

Thank you for this well-placed gem of British humour. Although it begets the question - with the excellent bus and tube system, why drive?

"with the excellent bus and tube system"

Let's just say "reasonably good"

I'd say it was very good compared to just about any country that is not in North Europe. And I really don't have an issue with busses anymore in London. TFL have a fantastic API which tells you when the bus you want is arriving at a stop amoungst many other things.

I quite enjoy using Hong Kong and Tokyo's transit systems - subway, train, and esp. hk's minibuses - though as a visitor, i.e. not during rush hour.

There are probably exceptions but I'm guessing that there are very few people who love their city's mass transit system if they have to use it daily at rush hour in all kinds of weather.

Are you ok with UK currency not being accepted on buses?

I like buses that move fast, that means optimising the time it takes for people to get on and off. That is especially so in London where buses stop every 200 yards or so and at each stop there are people getting on and off - at some popular stops there can be 30 people getting on and off.

Riders using cash slow the bus down considerably. Do you have suggestions on how to make it as fast as just tapping your Apple Watch or Oyster card on the yellow pad? :-)

You can still be anonymous using an Oyster card that's pre-loaded with cash.

I like buses that offer me the service I pay for, services I pay for both not just with my ticket, but with my taxes.

I don't like buses that leave me stranded at 3 a.m. because, well, maybe it's actually not a public service and I didn't get the memo.

London buses are really not something you want to try to use. I spent a couple of years working in Chelsea, which was deliberately omitted from the tube system (the rich inhabitants did not want the great unwashed to have an easy way to get there, I suspect). So walking or bus, or if you had more money than I had at the time, taxi was the only option. Walking was far faster than any bus.

Blame Boris for cancelling the extension of the congestion charge to west London. Through central London they're not too bad anymore, at least that was my impression living in London a few years back.

Bikes are faster for those circumstances, though obv. have their downside.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com