Overcrowding at fp

kreuzkav

I think most people are so dignified and mannerly considering the situation of being in a tight tube and FP station is one of the busiest non-central ones.  A friend who lived in London but went to Wales for a couple of months stayed on my sofa for a few days before leaving via Heathrow to live abroad.  When he came to stay he said he was so relaxed after living in Wales for a few months that he just didn't get into the whole routine of marching along the tunnel at a fast speed, positioning yourself and aggressively pushing yourself on the tube.  We've all done it.  Commuting during the busy hours often brings out the worst in us.

Sutent

Kreuzkav are you condoning the disgusting behaviour of those 2 men to Misscara?

kreuzkav

No, I'm not.  Their behaviour was highly aggressive. Please read my comment again.  I said that people often act in  a rude way and an aggressive way due to the rat race.  I'm not condoning. I wait if tubes are full.  I don't push.  But sometimes I do position myself or rush on the tube, often because otherwise another person will cut me to a seat even though I've been waiting before them.  I would never push anyone.

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kreuzkav

One couple I observed after 7pm on the Victoria line last week, so not a busy time just seemed to take over the centre of the carriage to take relish in taking over as much space with their beloved child.  <div><br><div>The wheelie case people can be just as bad.  I have a wheelie case but I don't use it as a weapon.</div></div>

conformable_kate

Northnineteen: yes, I meant front ... I've lived in London on and off since I was eight, I'm a reasonably savvy tube user when I have to be; I can do positioning, manoeuvring, wriggling on and off trains. But the idea that you have to be an expert on the platform in order to get on the thing in the first place - and then able to handle horrible levels of aggro with even higher levels in order to make it through the journey ... It can't be the only way to run a transport system.

miss annie

I've not noted this aggressive behaviour in other cities with underground networks - New York and Paris for example. I wonder what the difference is, I don't recall the trains being more frequent or more spacious (although they are cheaper). What makes people go bat crap crazy on our Underground?

NorthNineteen

Maybe I walk around with my eyes half closed but I rarely see or experience this level of agro that other people seem to see. I've regularly seen people not be helpful, and not be nice.... just not unhelpfulness or aggression.  I wish people were a bit more honest and open but in a polite way, you can see the pressure building sometimes<div><br></div><div>NYC and Paris I would say are fairly comparable, especially during peak periods.  But I'm pretty certain that the level of crowding on most tube lines is higher than the norm at either of these cities. The tube is more pleasant out of peak hours.</div>

miss annie

People are really bolshie on the Victoria Line in particular. Piccadilly from FP always seems calmer, except in school holidays when it's full of nippers going to the museums at South Ken. The one really unpleasant experience I've had was on a station not on the train. But from other Misscara's tales it seems that more people are much aggressive than I thought.

JoeV

This is just anecdotal, but I've had a decade of experience in London now and yes, the tube and buses do seem to me to have a higher level of aggression than the subway in New York but to be honest, and it's my biased opinion, London in general has a more aggressive feel at times, which I think is all down to booze.<div><br></div><div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I've seen my share of fights on the street and in the subway including an all out bare knuckles brawl on the the 7 train, but overall I've seen more confrontations in my 10 years in London than after time before, especially on buses.</span></div><div><div><br></div><div><div>As far as the tube vs subway being crowded, certain lines in New York are very, very crowded especially the Lex on the Eastside but in New York, the subway cars are bigger and can accommodate more people, so they don't feel as crammed, even when they are crammed, at least not like the deep tube lines that are very narrow, with low ceilings.</div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Also, there are express and local lines in many places so if you need to let a train go by you usually can get on the next one.</span></div></div></div></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;">My pet peeve is people who stand in front of the doors on the train and on the platform. There are two types, people who aggressively won't move an inch and people who are stunned to find out the train actually makes more than one stop and and find it an imposition to move their bag, newspaper, suitcase, because others want to get on/off. </span></div>

andy

@joev In Japan, there are similar levels of binge drinking, but it comes completely without hostility. As a brit, it was very curious to see people incapably drunk, but completely without aggression to others. You become very aware of the low-lying aggression here isn't necessarily the case. <div><br></div><div>I saw research somewhere that said Brits, compared to the rest of Europe, have the worst of both worlds when it comes to drink. In med countries, they drink often but moderately. In scandi countries, they drink infrequently, but binge. In the UK we binge, and regularly.</div>