We need a complete overhaul of the attitude towards public transport in London.
This week I need to start my column with a very straight-to-the-point observation of mine. Our public transport attitude is in shambles and all sides are to blame.
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It’s now hard to ignore it. The Olympics are here. And yet, how excited are we?
I appreciate the amount of hard work that has gone into organising the games – I really do. I have a lot of respect for the dedication of all the workers, organisers, and especially volunteers.
Yet recent surveys indicate only a third of the British public is excited about the Olympics. Ticket sales are just not doing well.
The army has had to be called in to establish security at the events, with missiles being placed on tower blocks – it’s as if shooting is going have the most coverage among all Olympic sports this year.
All these aside, the part that I was selfishly the most concerned about this week was transport. I received all the numerous emails and bulletins to “prepare” for the huge influx of the passengers so went on the websites that are designed to give you information about alternative travel arrangements during this time. There was no alternative route I could take, no measure to ensure regular Londoners can go about their daily lives with minimal disruption, just the simple message that “it is going to be crowded all the time”. So the only impression I got from all the “tips” was to shut up and try to enjoy what’s now inevitable.
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But interestingly my main concern is not so much about me getting around London during the Olympic period, but rather about the public transport already in place.
Anyone’s whose been to Oxford Circus station during rush hour will know that when the tube gets crowded, it really gets crowded. So when bus drivers threatened to strike, the tube would’ve had to have been shut down in order to avoid overcrowding. So the possibility that an already cautiously overstretched system to accommodate only minimal overcrowding is going to be further overstretched is definitely worrying.
But even more worrying is the attitude of the passengers, and staff on public transport. Twice in one week I walked into my local tube station with no disruptions written on the board at the entrance – only to find out once I arrived at the platform that the entire line had been shut down.
Also twice in one week I was on a bus when the pre-recorded message from the lovely lady came on to inform us that the final destination of the bus had changed and to expect announcements soon….in both cases there were no announcements that followed. The only bit of information we were given by the driver was to “just get onto the next bus and say ‘hey man, our driver left us here’.”
Blame doesn’t only lie with the staff however. The way some residents treat the public transport system is simply horrendous. I can honestly say that the most stressful part of my day is when I have to wonder what I will come across on the public transport system that day.
Anyone who knows me will vouch for me when I say I’m pretty open and liberal – but I can’t help but ask if some couples have really nothing better to do than to kiss while waiting to arrive at their stop. It definitely feels very weird to see I’m the only person on the bus without a second tongue in his mouth.
Then of course you get the people who yell on their phones, shout at each other and even have full-on dinners at the back of the bus – leaving all the food remains for everyone to see exactly what they are digesting. Anyone who has taken a night bus or a late train will tell you about all the characters there.
Why is it that we can’t simply get on a bus and just go where ever? Why can’t we get on the tube and just go home? Why all the things in between?
After all, if we have no respect for public property – which is each other’s property (to make it clear: public transport falls under this category) – how can we expect people to have respect for each other’s comfort?
It’s as if everyone’s just stopped caring. And as a first step towards improving this bit by bit, we need a complete overhaul of our public transport attitude.
Şeref İşler is a broadcast journalist at the BBC World Service’s Turkish section.
