London 3 million Paris 4.4 million Moscow 9 million Tokyo 7 million Prague 1.2 million Mexico City 4.2 million New York 4.7 million
So it's not the busiest, by quite a long way.
Number of Stations and lines
London 275 stations, 12 lines Paris 297 stations, 14 lines Moscow 162 stations, 11 lines Tokyo 209 stations, 12 lines Prague 50 stations, 3 lines Mexico City 175 stations, 11 lines New York 468 stations, 25 lines
Now it starts to get interesting and you can start to see why Londoners think they are getting a very raw deal:
Cost of a ticket
London 90p to £5.30 (10 zones) - no flat fares Paris 80p flat fare Moscow 12p Tokyo 90p to £1.68 Prague 24p flat fare Mexico City 11p flat fare New York £1.03 flat fare
So it's the most expensive by a fair way and quite easily the least efficient....take my word for it. But don't just take my word for it.
On the 9th August 2001, a report showed that the network failed to reach every one of seven key performance targets - including one to improve safety standards. The report detailed 7 standards set down by the government. Five of the targets related to customer satisfaction - safety and security, train service, staff helpfulness and availability, cleanliness and information. The underground fell short on all of these measures. London Underground also fell beneath the target number of train kilometres by more than 5% and the trains took too long to reach their destinations (Anyone wishing to download the Annual Report can do so here, but be warned it takes several minutes to download).
However, if you're travelling around Central London it's the fastest way to do it as traffic is so bad that the average London driver only travels at 5 mph.
Let's take a quick look at the efficiency of other subway systems.
On the Metro in Paris there are no platform indicators telling you how long until the next train arrives because they are so frequent that passengers don't need them.
In Moscow the trains take you through a myriad of marbled, stuccoed, spacious, spotless stations which contrast totally with the grubby streets above ground. It will only cost you five roubles (12p) to go anywhere.
With Toykyo's subway system trains do not just arrive on time, they stop right on a platform mark so that passengers can line up knowing exactly where the doors will open.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Annie Mole's London Underground topic, please visit the Discussions page.