I recently started traveling part of the way to and from work by bus. It takes a bit longer but its quite pleasant to spend some time above ground and looking at London life from a different angle.
I love double decker buses and can't wait to try out the new routemaster when it comes into action. Sitting right at the front on the top deck is still one of my favourite things. You can look behind the boards into the building site to see how that giant building block down the road is being built, or see how fine cyclists cut it when it comes to getting in between traffic, or just enjoy the brush of branches on the glass screen.
The general ebb and flow of people on the vehicle can be quite interesting. On this particular route, for example, there seems to be a divide as to who gets the run of the bus on different parts of the route. As the bus moves from east to west, we intially start out with an overwhelming majority of school children. They fill the bus with sounds of idle chit chat and giggles until they get off to make room for the suits. The bus ends up in the city and passes by a number of schools before passing through a neo-suburb for city-folk. Gradually the bus fills up with banker types and almost everyone gets off as the bus gets into a station near the financial center of London. On the reverse journey back home from work, however, the population on the bus is a bit more boring. Its too late for school children so there are only the suits on their way home.
Occasionally I meet friends on the bus trip. It is rather pleasant and relaxing to see a friendly face, particularly first thing in the morning. The general hustle and bustle around you as people go about their daily business helps you stay engaged with the world at large where things happen. Its more interesting than just watching the tunnel walls rush past and definitely worth the extra time this takes.
I love double decker buses and can't wait to try out the new routemaster when it comes into action. Sitting right at the front on the top deck is still one of my favourite things. You can look behind the boards into the building site to see how that giant building block down the road is being built, or see how fine cyclists cut it when it comes to getting in between traffic, or just enjoy the brush of branches on the glass screen.
The general ebb and flow of people on the vehicle can be quite interesting. On this particular route, for example, there seems to be a divide as to who gets the run of the bus on different parts of the route. As the bus moves from east to west, we intially start out with an overwhelming majority of school children. They fill the bus with sounds of idle chit chat and giggles until they get off to make room for the suits. The bus ends up in the city and passes by a number of schools before passing through a neo-suburb for city-folk. Gradually the bus fills up with banker types and almost everyone gets off as the bus gets into a station near the financial center of London. On the reverse journey back home from work, however, the population on the bus is a bit more boring. Its too late for school children so there are only the suits on their way home.
Occasionally I meet friends on the bus trip. It is rather pleasant and relaxing to see a friendly face, particularly first thing in the morning. The general hustle and bustle around you as people go about their daily business helps you stay engaged with the world at large where things happen. Its more interesting than just watching the tunnel walls rush past and definitely worth the extra time this takes.
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