LONDONERS' WAY#2 Transportation in London

In London, we can choose the best way as many different kinds of transportations depend on destination and situation. Tube which means underground, DLR, overground, bus, bike, and boat, every transportation is operated by only one company, TfL. TfL is the Abbreviation for "Transport for London". They are the integrated transport authority responsible for meeting Mayor Sadiq Khan's strategy and commitments on transport in London.

And they also manage London's main roads and made a special card called "Oyster card" which is similar to "Suica" in Japan. I think based technologies are the same as Suica. Why is a card called Oyster card? Someone said there are a couple of reasons for this, but all are not sure. According to Wikipedia, the word "oyster" was conceived and promoted because of the metaphorical implications of security and value in the component meanings of the hard bivalve shell and the concealed pearl, the association of London and the River Thames with oysters, and the well-known travel-related idiom "the world is your oyster" in Shakespeare. Recently, we can use a contactless debit card and apple pay. What I mean, we don't have to buy an Oyster card anymore.

London Bus is one of the famous stuff in London. In my opinion, London Buses are the most convenient transportation in London. We can use them only £1.50 also, within the space of an hour, we can travel on unlimited buses and trams for a flat fee of £1.50. So we can save money for transports if you have enough time. Anyway, London Buses are famous as red and double-decker. When I got on Double-decker the first time, I was struck my heart because it is extream efficient. They can transport more than twice passengers than normal buses. In addition, they are short compared with commuter buses, so it is good for traffic. It means that many buses can run on the streets at the same time.

Do you know why all the London buses are red? In early the 20th century some different companies had buses. They competed with each other and painted buses in different colours. In 1907, one bigger company decided to paint their buses in red to make them stand out from their rivals, and place numbers on the front of the bus to tell people the route it would be taking. In 1948, the Successor's company was nationalized, and then, all buses were painted in red and the same numbering system was started.

*This journal is based on the project in my school.