Getting Around London
Although London has a population of over 8 million people, it is easy for visitors to get around this city because of how well transportation is organized here. Options include taxis, the subway, buses, and car rentals.
Like taxis anywhere in the world, London taxis are easy to spot. They are black cabs with spacious interiors. When landing at Heathrow International Airport, they will take you directly to your hotel or other intended destination. This saves you the convenience of trying to figure out the transportation system when you first arrive. However, once you get your bearings, you don’t need to continue to hail taxis for transportation. Taxis can be expensive, especially when you consider that the meter will continue to run even if the taxi is stuck in rush-hour traffic.
“The Tube” is a vast underground subway system. It has numerous lines that can take you almost all over London. The service runs from the early hours of the morning until late at night. Tickets can be purchased for a day or for a designated period of time. Easy-to-read maps and schedules make it simple to plan a comprehensive travel itinerary around this old city.
Buses are efficient, inexpensive, and very reliable. In fact, London is famous for its red double-decker buses, and often visitors ride them for the sheer adventure of a commanding view of the city. Like “the tube,” it is easy enough to get a schedule and a map and figure your way around the city. The best way to expedite travel on buses is to have the right change as bus drivers often get flustered when they have to make change.
Finally, of course, you can, provided you have an international driver’s license, hire a car. Although this will give you a highly convenient form of transportation, allowing you the freedom to go where you like at any time of the day or night, there are three drawbacks. The first is that the cost of petrol can be very high, especially compared to prices paid in the United States. The second is that the roads are often congested, meaning that you will spend a lot of time in traffic. And the third is that parking is often hard to find, which means that you will waste a considerable amount of time driving around looking for a parking place and you may have to walk quite a distance from your car to your intended destination.