Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Tube strike: thanks for nothing, Bob

Well, I made it to work eventually, despite the strike. And whilst my usual thirty minute journey took a semi-epic two and a half hours, it was at least in reasonable comfort.

Normally, I would catch any bus from Wandsworth Road to Vauxhall, switch to the Victoria line as far as Warren Street before a brief skip and a jump to my office. But without the Victoria line south of Victoria, and with Warren Street station closed, I needed to be a little more thoughtful.

My priority was to avoid having to stand so, from Vauxhall, I took route 360 to Pimlico. It's an interesting route, Elephant & Castle to the Royal Albert Hall via Vauxhall and Sloane Square, and therefore a bit obscure. It was standing room only, but short enough a journey to be bearable.

I should note that London Buses were providing quite a bit of information and, most importantly of all, managing the queues to prevent chaos. Well done, them!

The aim of my first sideways move was to get to the beginning of a bus route that runs to my office, and my target was route 24, Pimlico to Hampstead Heath. Sure enough, the stop at Claverton Street was peaceful and the bus, when it arrived, empty. So I took my seat on the top deck, at the front, opened 'Pyramids' by Terry Pratchett, and sat patiently.

The traffic was chewy, especially on the approach to Parliament Square, but I got to work in the end, even if it took an hour and a half. Oh well, better get to work...

1 comment:

Sol said...

I cycled in, as usual.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.