Let's Complain! The TUBE

tctjeremy

Hi everybody,

I guess there are lot's of people who are absolute fed up with the London Underground.

Rather than spending lots of money on advertising their image (arguably most people use the Underground not because of choice but because the have no other alternative), the Tube should invest the money on:

- Air Conditioning
- More hygenic and non-cotton seats
- Reliable tracks & punctuality

I suggest everybody who agrees should spend 5 min completing the following form: https://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/contacts/form.asp

and overflood their department with complains!!! :mad: :mad:

Jeremy

gingercordial

tctjeremy wrote:

Hi everybody,

I guess there are lot's of people who are absolute fed up with the London Underground.

Yes!

Rather than spending lots of money on advertising their image (arguably most people use the Underground not because of choice but because the have no other alternative), the Tube should invest the money on:

- Air Conditioning

I believe they've been looking into this for quite some time but haven't found a way yet for two main reasons:

1. On the deep lines at least, the tunnels are only just big enough for the trains so there's no room to have aircon units sticking out, and there's no room for them inside the carriages either.
2. If you pump hot air out of the trains, it has to go into the tunnels and stations, which will make waiting for a train even more hellish.

The tube's a very old system and just not designed for air conditioning, unlike something built recently like the Bangkok Skytrain which is wonderfully cool.

- More hygenic and non-cotton seats

I agree with you there, AFAIK it's the only subway system in the world with fabric seats (everywhere else has plastic ones) which are a bit rank when you think about it. But would you be happy with the increased ticket prices that would inevitably result from the costs of replacing all the seats?

- Reliable tracks & punctuality

I suppose they'd argue that they're doing this with all the weekend closures at the moment, which are a huge source of irritation in themselves! Again though it's not like a lot of the world's systems, eg New York, where they have two tracks in each direction so they can maintain one set and use the others if necessary.

I know it's a right pain in the a***, but without digging the whole thing up and starting again, what can you do?

Mattjimf

gingercordial wrote:

I agree with you there, AFAIK it's the only subway system in the world with fabric seats (everywhere else has plastic ones) which are a bit rank when you think about it. But would you be happy with the increased ticket prices that would inevitably result from the costs of replacing all the seats?

Glasgow's Clockwork Orange system has fabric seats in all their trains.

sarahlouise210

I do not live in London but recently went for a long weekend. I thought the Tube was fantastic ..it is so easy to use ..you can get anywhere you want with ease. I would absolutely love to have a similar system here. I have to rely on public transport and would choose the Tube anyday. Buses have fabric seats..so do planes..and you can sit on them for hours on end!

IvanOpinion

I am not in London that often but do occasionally make trips onm the tube .. maybe I have been incredibly lucky but I thought it was a fantastic service ... a new train every 2-10 minutes ... if the last one was jam packed you simply waited a couple of minutes for another one. Yes it was a bit stifling but gingercordial seems to explain that ... overall I waish the train or bus service near me was even a tenth as reliable as I have found the tube

Ivan

gerretl

I'm with Ivanopinion here. I live near the end of the district line, and can get round most of london for £6 for the day, after a five mile bus trip, that is usually late costing £1.80 each way.
The people who tend to complain about the tube are commuters who don't realise how useful its coverage is to peope wjo do not have a regular destination

CIS

agree with you there, AFAIK it's the only subway system in the world with fabric seats

Tyne and Wear Metro has faric seats - probably a British thing

gingercordial

gerretl wrote:

The people who tend to complain about the tube are commuters who don't realise how useful its coverage is to peope wjo do not have a regular destination

You're probably right, I have to use it twice a day in rush hour into the City with a change at a very busy station, so I see it at its worst! In general I know it's a fast, reasonably reliable way of travelling and just the frequency I use it with means I see more of the delays. I'm also getting a bit annoyed with all the weekend closures which seem to be on most lines at the moment, can't imagine how confusing that must be for all the tourists who don't speak good enough English to understand the announcements!

Seriously, I love the tube, but need a rant from time to time!

Oh yes, thanks for the info on fabric seats, I read that about the tube being the only one the other day, should check my sources properly before I post on here!

gerretl

gingercordial. I sympathise. I occasionally have to use it at peak times, and it is a nightmare. Everything the OP says.We could always use the indian method of cutting overcrowding by sitting on the roof.

Kaminari_2

On the subject of weekend closures this is because of essential work needing done on the tracks to prevent derailment and crashes. TfL do there best to get work done overnight. This is to have the least possible impact on commuters as possible. If they can't get it done overnight they do it on weekends. The cost of hiring extra customer service staff and to put on a bus replacement service is very high and i can assure you that TfL would not do it if they didn't have to. It is very inconvienent but it is much better than a crash and loss of life.

zappomatic

Why do people want hard, plastic seats? I'm guessing people have read that internet hoax about things found when a tube seat was analysed? People can and do make long journeys on the tube, comparable to many National Rail journeys and hard seats (or even vinyl covered - sweaty!) would be most unpleasant.

The seats are covered with a wool-based moquette which is surprisingly stain repellant.