UK: tube travel makes Londoners more aggressive

[John Ashworth]

Report says tube travel makes Londoners more aggressive

London assembly report indicates that commuters on the underground are adopting a 'dog-eat-dog' attitude

* Dan Milmo
* The Guardian, Tuesday 1 December 2009


Millions of London Underground passengers have had enough of sardine-like conditions and are adopting a "dog-eat-dog" attitude during their daily commute, according to a report published today.

The stiff upper lip of the tube user has become a snarl as overcrowding forces commuters and tourists to shed egalitarian principles in a scramble for seats or standing space, say London Assembly members.

The tube carries 3.5 million people a day and sometimes shoehorns four travellers into a square metre of carriage space during peak hours, with the Central and Northern lines the worst offenders.

The London assembly report, Too Close for Comfort, features tales from the commuting frontline on one of the world's busiest metro systems.

One participant in the research describes the Jekyll and Hyde effect of being forced to fight for space: "I'm a different animal on the tube to normal life. I'm not me. I'm a bit less interested in others."

Other respondents drown out their frustration by turning up their iPod and going into an "automatic pilot" routine. Worst of all, the behavioural norm that has been hard-wired into generations of Londoners – giving up your seat for those who need it most – appears to be disappearing in the crush.

The report says that people are "going after a seat regardless of who else might want it, ignoring pregnant women and people carrying babies".

Assembly members urged Transport for London to give passengers more information about crowding levels on trains, including a "traffic light" system that could recommend a bus journey or walk instead.

"Passengers are very resilient and they do put up with a lot. But on some lines it is so overcrowded that they become incredibly focused while dashing for that seat and it changes how they behave compared with normal life," said Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the assembly's transport committee, which wrote the report.

A TfL spokesman said the tube was investing billions of pounds in upgrades that will boost capacity by nearly a third. "This will mean more trains, able to carry more passengers, with faster journeys and larger stations," he said.