A cheer for the London transport system

Undoubtedly the workd 'commuting' exists in the dictionary with the definition next to it reading: 'horror'. No matter if you have to train it or bus it - or even worse, tube it - commuting sucks. And yet... the transport system in London is fantastic. It's the sheer volume of people and the ancient infrastructure that turns an incredible system into a trip to hell. In the winter it sucks because it is too cold outside, too hot inside, and the ice/rain/snow stops everything from working. In summer it is too hot outside, too hot inside, and the sun/heat stops everything from working and makes everyone grumpy. I am really grateful I don't have to get the tube to work each day - have never had to as I've always avoided it - but the tube outside of rush hour is a pretty impressive thing. An underground network of tunnels through which locomotives pass, picking up and dropping off passengers, quicker than the cars queueing in traffic far above... it's like something from a novel or film. And the buses - oh man let me talk about buses. I get very geeky about Night Buses which are both magical secret world you have no idea about unless you are a certain age (16-35 perhaps, though I risk offense) and at the same time immensely practical. I did rather hate them at 17 when I lived a long way from London and the Night Bus took almost 2 hours to get me home, feet aching, eyes closing, ears ringing (and a long walk at the other end, sigh). Since I moved to London I LOVE them - who cares about trains and tubes which finish at midnight, and not being a Cinderella, are of no use to me, instead focus on this: a service which runs every 30mins, all through the night and takes me from whatever scene to my flat in no time at all... and offers me fun along the way - the drug-addled, those in beer-comas, the cacophony of parties of drunk 17 year olds. I have had some of the best bits of my night on the Night Bus home as my mates and I dissect the night, gossip and talk philosophical gibberish hardly even realising where we are, until the lights on the bus go out for the final stop, and we fall off the bus in giggles and blinking eyes.

I also quite like getting the bus in the day too; but it's not as fun, normally because I am going to work and not to bed.