All airports have good rail links into the centre – Heathrow is on the tube. High speed rail links have been built to Heathrow and Gatwick and Stanstead, and as they are run by private companies they’re very reliable and clean. However they are expensive and not much quicker than normal trains – which are rarely advertised, but run in parallel – often on the same tracks. Our advice is unless you’re arriving at Heathrow to buy a ‘Network Southeast card’ on arrival (from the train station at the airport) – you then get cheap rail travel (as long as your outward journey is after 10:00) for a year – for four people. This could pay for itself on one journey, but it’ll also save you money if you use the rail to travel out to Hampton Court, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton etc. Remember ONE card covers FOUR people traveling together. You don’t need a photograph. If you arrive by boat then all the ports have stations where you can use a Network Southeast Card.
Normal scheduled rail services run into town, Stanstead – Liverpool Street, Gatwick – Charing Cross/London Bridge, Luton – King’s cross (you can change here for London Bridge and interconnecting stations via Thameslink), they run up until about 2330, after which you’ll have to use the more expensive Private trains. The tube from Heathrow is the Piccadilly Line which runs straight to the centre of London, via the South West Hotel Corridor.
There are also good bus, minibus and taxi services, but these start to get expensive. Some minibuses will drop you at or near your hotel.
Getting around in London
BUS
London’s buses are part of the landscape – you will often see more than 20 of them nose-to-tail down Oxford Street, with pedestrians passing them at twice the speed.. Fares are currently £1 in the centre and £0.70 outside. Individual bus tickets are not transferable so going by bus can prove more expensive than other modes of transport. Buy a Travelcard if you intend to make more than a couple of journeys by bus or tube (or commuter train) a day. Night buses run from Trafalgar Square – a Day Travelcard is nowvalid on the night bus system. A day bus pass for all of London is only £2. Generally safe way to travel after midnight, less raucous than trains. The conductor or ‘clippie’ will come round to collect your fare. Bus conductors on the much-loved Routemaster buses are a mine of information, otherwise on single-crewed buses pay the driver (this slows the bus right down).
TUBE
The London Underground (affectionately known as the tube) was the first, and is now sadly the least reliable and most expensive in the world. Delays are frequent, and seem to occur just when you need to get somewhere urgently (often between 6 and 9pm). Buy a travelcard if you are making frequent journeys, Zone 1 & 2 should cover all your needs, but ask if in doubt. You can buy day, weekend and weekly travelcards. They also cover buses and trains. You can also buy a carnet (book of 10 reduced price tickets for travel within zone 1 only – valid for a year) if you intend to make a few trips within zone 1.
Fares £1.6 a journey in the centre ( roughly within the circle line)
TAXI
London black cabs are justifiably famous. ‘The Knowledge – the exam to become a cabbie – takes years of study and has been actually shown on scans to increase brain size, such is the amount of geographical information needed. That said, many cabbies dislike going south of the river and their knowledge seems to become a little hazy south of the Elephant & Castle. Fares are more economical if you share. To go from one end of London to the other should cost about £20, shorter rides are about £8.
London taxi fares are the most expensive in the world, and go up after 2000hrs. Taxi drivers make £70k/$100k a year at least, so don’t tip them unless you earn significantly more then they do.
That said, for all the ‘honourable rules of the trade’ there are many complaints. We’ve watched black people ignored by taxis who pull up opposite the next white person who hails them. Taxis HAVE to stop if they see you hail them (however they can claim they didn’t see you if they don’t like the look of you). Once stopped, they can’t refuse to take you within 6 miles of the centre – if they do, take their number and report them
MINICABS
This includes all ‘taxis’ that are not official licenced cabs. They are not allowed to solicit on the street and have to be booked by phone or by going to their office. However you are likely to be pestered around the major tube and train stations late at night by drivers – there is no way of knowing if they’re safe or reliable. Agree a price first – there are no meters. Although there are many reputable firms, there are more dodgy ones, no fixed prices and their knowledge of London is often scanty.
