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Friday, October 19, 2007

London Underground Fashion Victims

Fashion Victims on the Tube

It's Friday, time for another look at commuters on the Tube who could be considered victims of fashion or have certainly taken a style and made it their own.

First Uggs of Autumn

You can tell it's getting colder when the Uggs are out in force. She's gone for the full Paris Hilton look with the micro mini skirt and the boots which are more appropriate for Russian steppes than the steps of an escalator.

Winter Uggs with micro skirt

I also like the hardy rucksack with it's "scooby doo" key chain / bag jewellery and the glitzy sequinned gold accompaniment.

Label alert

Speaking of escalators, they put you at a great vantage point to spot people who've left the labels on the soles of their shoes. Yeah, I know that doesn't make you a "fashion victim". But it does spoil your nice cropped Twiggy trouser look and Top Shop shopper bag.

Labelled soles

Autumnal Puffa

I was fascinated by this guy's puffa jacket:

Autumnal puffa

It would have made a great camouflage jacket if he'd decided to lie in an cartoon forest. Unfortunately, you can't see from the picture very well but there were little monkeys hiding amongst the leaves. Also loving the astronaut on his jeans pocket. All very Neil Armstrong meets Walt Disney.

Ghetto Blaster Heaven

Finally retro Metrosexual Trompe L'Oiel look:

Ghetto Blaster Bag

Is it a man bag? Did he raid a toy shop? Is he being ironic? Is it all out kitsch? Who knows.

That's it for now. The previous victims can be found here and the complete picture gallery can be seen on the following Flickr set.


; Posted by Unknown Friday, October 19, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/london-underground-fashion-victims.html

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The Surreal Line

A guest post today from my friend and ace Tube photographer "Chutney Bannister" -

"Like most users of the tube, I have my own little ritual to get through the journey. Whilst most scuffle around for a stray copy of one of the freesheets, dig into the latest best seller, switch on their iPods, or switch off completely, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a route onto the Surreal Line.

"You won't see it on any official Tube maps. Or ones those enthusiasts keep of abandoned tunnels and disused stations. The ticket office won't tell you what zones it occupies. Tube drivers won't make any mention of it when they call out connections. Platform staff, they just shrug and look back at you blankly. Eyes glazed over as you explain you once saw a connection on the Bakerloo line. Or was it the Jubilee? Fellow commuters? Pfft! First rule of Tube travelling is, you don't talk. In spite of that, every now and again though, if I'm lucky, I'll catch a glimpse of it. I know it's there… except sometimes it isn't! It's a bit like trying to find ways into Narnia... the entrance is never the same, and once used, it disappears completely.

"Please believe me, I've been on the Surreal Line. Sometimes for mere seconds, other times for maybe a minute perhaps even two. I can't explain how it happens, or why, but in the blink of an eye, I'm suddenly there! Sitting in one of its trains, or standing on one of its platforms, slightly befuddled as I watch a baby leap above a crowded carriage of bored commuters.
baby messiah big brother

On other trips, I've seen a woman waft a man with handfuls of cash, a giant offer a businessman a plateful of jelly and a mischievous squirrel attempt to leave a box on a man's shoulder. I've sat in a train and been eyed up by gawping giants. Watched a pair of eyes roll by the carriage windows, sneaking a peak at a commuter's paper in the time-honoured tradition. Before I can point this out to anyone, as if by magic, I'm suddenly back again. Like Mr Benn, with a token souvenir of his dressing room travels, all I have left are these pictures.
inlookerstriker

If you've been on the Surreal Line too, and know when it'll next appear, can you please let me know? I think I left my umbrella there...

Chutney Bannister"


; Posted by Unknown Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/surreal-line.html

Monday, October 15, 2007

Disappearing Chocolate Machines

Linked to post I made last week about
food on the Tube, I received an email from Billy last week with the following poser:

"Around Easter time this year, every single Cadbury's chocolate machine on the Underground - at least, every single one I've seen over the last six months or so - has been taken out of service. Some have been removed entirely, some just sit there, their fronts turned inside out with a 'This machine has been taken out of service' sticker.

Photo by James Cridland

I had noticed that in the last few months before their demise, they'd been rewarding me with chocolate without me paying a penny. I'd got two packets of Mini Cream Eggs this way, and at Westminster I'd put a pound coin in, only for it to come straight out again...but gave me some chocolate anyway! Even so, getting rid of the lot seems a bit extreme, surely, it's ending a century of tradition.

I was at least comforted with the Coca Cola machines still working, at £1 they were actually cheaper than a lot of other places that sell them...except in the last few weeks these seem to have gone as well, I usually get a bottle from Green Park but they've vanished!

Now I have to try and remember before I go inside a station to visit the newsagent first, it's much less convenient though. Any ideas why they've got rid of them, and do you know if they'll ever be back?
"

First of all I thought he was wrong and he was referring to a point when the chocolate machines were faulty & were melting the chocolate. But then I spent one evening coming home deliberately looking at the platorms where I knew there were machines and he was right, they had gone.

Now to be honest losing Cadbury's machines isn't a great hardship for me as I hate Cadbury's chocolate. The fact that it's taken me months to even notice they were missing also shows I'm not going to mourn their passing. Like many people I've also lost count of the times my money has been swallowed by those machines, with no chocolate in return.

But like Billy I wonder if their disappearance is permanent? Has the concession gone to Mars instead (which would be a result for me)? Will we ever see Tube platform chocolate or drinks machines again?


; Posted by Unknown Monday, October 15, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/disappearing-chocolate-machines.html

Friday, October 12, 2007

Feet on Tube Seats Fine

This doesn't mean it's fine to put your feet on Tube seats, but that putting your feet on Tube seats means you can get a fifty quid on the spot fine. The same's also true for playing your music too loudly.

Feet on Tube seats

Senior officers from the British Transport Police say that people feel intimidated by "low level bad behaviour" and that it also leads to more serious disorder and to clashes when troublemakers are confronted.

Extra officers will patrol London transport to help reduce fear and cut crime.

Apparently the fines will vary according to the offence, but can be as much as £80, and they will double if not paid within 21 days.

However, this doesn't mean that all people with their feet on seats or loudly playing iPods and the like will be fined. The Evening Standard wrote: "Some passengers, particularly those judged to be acting "thoughtlessly" rather than deliberately offensively, will be initially be given a verbal warning and told to improve their conduct.

The drive against antisocial behaviour forms part of wider attempt by Transport for London to improve passenger safety. To achieve this, it has drawn up a new Community Safety Plan which lists the reduction of anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime among its key targets for the coming year
."

Unamed commuter groups have welcomed the move and they're also looking for a beer ban on London's transport.


; Posted by Unknown Friday, October 12, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/feet-on-tube-seats-fine.html

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Priority Seat Moquette

I wonder if people on the District Line are particularly bad about giving up seats? If so, the new(-ish) moquette on the seats makes it pretty clear where the priority seats are:

Priority Seat Moquette

Not content with the sign on the glass above them, some "priority seats" have the bright orange "give-up-this-seat-to-someone-who-needs-it-more-than- you" icon emblazoned on the seat upholstery.

Although admittedly if I saw a jaundiced looking man with a seat growing out of his leg and a woman with a young child attached to his arm, I'd move out if his way pretty sharpish.

Before we pat London on the back for being innnovative, it looks like we are behind the Japanese with this, who've gone for a more subtle approach. Probably too subtle for many people.

Photo by cybernezumi

But I wonder how long it will take for someone to do a spoof of the priority seating signs similar to the Japanese subway spoof

Japanese Priority Seating Spoof


Here's what it normally looks like

Photo by psd


; Posted by Unknown Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/priority-seat-moquette.html

Monday, October 08, 2007

Guess where Tube Stop

Looks like the London Undeground itself liked the
quiz run on the blog a few weeks ago where station names were blanked out. As an experiment it appears they decided to incorporate it onto the network.


Karl took this photo and said "Where am I? Imagine pulling into this station as a tourist or with English as a second language - no, hold on, it doesn't matter what language you speak - unless you can telepathically communicate with the sign."

If anyone would like to make any guesses as to the station Karl pulled into, please leave them in the comments below. Let's hope in the meantime that TfL have managed to fill in the sign.


; Posted by Unknown Monday, October 08, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/guess-where-tube-stop.html

Friday, October 05, 2007

London has "world's best" public transport

It's not a publicity stunt by Mayor Ken, and I certainly feel sorry fo the rest of the world, but
apparently London has the best public transport system on earth. Even though it was considered the most expensive, (no surprises there then) worldwide vistors to a TripAdvisor poll voted London as having the safest public transport, the best subway system and the best taxis.

Jubilee Jam by Chutney Bannister

New York was runner-up to London as the best for public transport and was also second most-expensive.

Michelle Perry, TripAdvisor's communications director, said "For the second straight year, London and New York were tops for public transport among travellers. As they also rate as the most expensive among travellers, it's proof that even when it comes to riding a bus or a subway, you get what you pay for." Mmmm an overcrowded, delayed, badly in need of repair, hot, strike happy service as far as the Tube is concerned.

Just over 800 people completed the poll, which is hardly representative of the "world's" travellers. However, they seemed to have a bit more sense when it came to voting on cleanliness when London came fourth. Washington won this category.

Never one to seize an opportunity to boast about London's Transport, Ken Livingstone said to the Independent "What we are seeing are the fruits of real and sustained increased investment in London's public transport, a break from the previous policy of deregulation and choking off resources.

"London has achieved a unique shift in journeys from cars to public transport, a 40 per cent increase in bus ridership, cleaner engines for buses and taxis, traffic down in the city's centre, and 83 per cent increase in cycling, and the biggest transport investment programme since the Second World War."

If you want to see more from the 800 poor deluded folk check out Female First. Also if you have any views on which public transport system you think is the best in the world, please leave your thoughts in the comments below.


; Posted by Unknown Friday, October 05, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/london-has-worlds-best-public-transport.html

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Tube Map Diet

It was ironic that I saw the londonpaper's story about the Tube Map Diet in a carriage where the remains of a real Tube Diet were left behind.

Tube Map Diet

A Tube Map diet isn't about surviving on left over pizza, rat kebab and pigeon pie. It's the challenge to spend a week only eating food that is grown or reared within the spread of the London Underground map.

It's not too easy but he manages to find a couple of city farms, some farmers markets and some honey produced in Regent's Park.

He could have tried the other challenge of surviving on food from Tube stations. Unless you're lucky enough to use a station with a Marks & Spencer's in it, you're stuck with newsagent fodder or the odd samosa, chicken roll and doughnut from Treats.

I suppose the advantage of not having much decent food on sale within very close vacinity of Tube stations, means that you get fewer people eating smelly food on it. If I'm particularly starving and have a had a few drinks I've been known to forget Tube etiquette and tuck into some fried chicken. I try to keep it in the bag as much as possible when I'm not gnawing on it, but am still aware of the evil stares of people and subtle nose wrinkling going on.


; Posted by Unknown Wednesday, October 03, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/tube-map-diet.html

Monday, October 01, 2007

Guess Where Tube Quiz - Answers

IanD's "
Guess Where Tube quiz" got a great response with many of you guessing the location of various stations which is quite hard when the station names are blanked out.

Here are the results:

There were 12 stations in total one for each Underground line. 5 stations are in Zone 1. 6 stations are in Zone 2. One station is in Zone 3. One station is in Zone 5. The additional clue that I didn't give, just to make it harder, is that they are all on interchanges.

King's Cross St Pancras
Picture 1 - King's Cross St Pancras (guessed correctly most times - 13)

Elephant & Castle
Picture 2 - Elephant & Castle (the sandwich bar was a bit of a give away there - but only 4 people guessed this correctly and there were some wild differences in guesses with this one)

Finsbury Park
Picture 3 - Finsbury Park - guessed by five people

Bank
Picture 4 - Bank - 11 people got this one

Canada Water
Picture 5 - Canada Water - 7 guessed this

Rayners Lane
Picture 6 - Rayners Lane - guessed by 8 of you

Farringdon
Picture 7 - Farringdon - 9 people got this

Edgware Road
Picture 8 - Edgware Road - 7 got this right

Whitechapel
Picture 9 - Whitechapel - 8 people guessed correctly

Finchley Road
Picture 10 - Finchley Road - only 5 of you got this

Mile End
Picture 11 - Mile End - guessed by 10 people

Ealing Common
Picture 12 - Ealing Common - this was the hardest and only two of you guessed it correctly


No one guessed all twelve correctly but Rich and Chz got 11 stations each (quite an achievement), miles away got 8 and John F got 7.

Many thanks again to IanD for devising the quiz. Great idea and yet pretty difficult to solve.


; Posted by Unknown Monday, October 01, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/10/guess-where-tube-quiz-answers.html

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Give us a Brake

Tubes too DangerousServices are suspended completely on the Hammersmith & City and Circle Lines and partially suspended on the District line as drivers are refusing to drive trains due to concerns about the emergency braking.

Trains stopped running on the District Line between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road from 1740 BST on Wednesday.

And services were suspended on the Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines at 1910 BST and 1940 BST respectively.

A TfL spokeswoman said: "Local trade union safety representatives have raised concerns about the design of the traction brake controller on the C stock trains used on these lines.

"As always, we are addressing the safety concerns of the trade unions.

"However, these trains have been in safe operation for over 25 years, and there is no reason for the service to the public to be disrupted whilst we seek to address the issues raised."

There's been no comment as yet from Aslef and the RMT. However keep an eye on Tube's site and good luck if you're using any of those lines this morning.


; Posted by Unknown Thursday, September 27, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/give-us-brake.html

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Shakespeare Tube Map.....Tu Be or not Tu Be?

Just when you thought it was all quiet on the official Tube Map mashing front, along comes the Royal Shakespeare Company with their
Bardic Tube Map.

Detail from Shakespeare Tube Map

Thanks to Heather who sent me a link to The Guardian's Blog who initially reported this. The RSC commissioned designer Kit Glover to produce a new range of RSC products. Kit had a dinner party discussion with his friend who believes that many of Shakespeare's characters are interlinked and show similar character traits. Kit thought about he could depict this graphically and the London Underground map seemed to be the best way of mapping their relationships. The Guardian have a larger version of the map on their site.

We've seen this a number of times before (Simon Patterson's Great Bear) and more recently The Guardian's Music Tube map and even a Web 2.0 map based on Tokyo's Subway Map.

The lines in Shakespeare's map include: strong and difficult women (turquoise), lovers (red), mothers (pink), fathers and daughters (green), villains (light blue), heroes (dark blue), warriors (black) and fools (orange). The RSC point out "Interesting intersections include Henry V who meets on the warrior and hero line, and Lady Macbeth on the strong and difficult women and warrior line".

My Shakespeare's currently at Sally Webster out of Coronation Street's level - but I like Ophelia being on the stop for the riverbus. I'm surprised to see that Lear's daughters Goneril & Regan, aren't nearer towards him on the map. The Guardian offer some missed opportunities with geographical mapping - "That notorious bear from The Winter's Tale must surely pursue passengers from Paddington and Macduff undoubtedly gets off at Caledonian Road, while the Falstaff of the final scene of The Merry Wives would more naturally alight at Royal Oak". However it's all easier said than done.

I'm not sure that Shakespeare had over 270 characters in his plays, then connecting them by relationship to each other and adding some puns with station names would have been beyond the Bard himself (well it probably wouldn't).

Forsooth, if thou desires to acquire for thyself a bag, mug, poster, set of postcards and my heart quickens.... a tea towel, with Shakespeare's map gracing them, do not tarry, venture with haste to the RSC's webeth site.


; Posted by Unknown Wednesday, September 26, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/shakespeare-tube-maptu-be-or-not-tu-be.html

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Tubes as soothing as birds

Apparently us city dwellers find the rumble of overland and Tube trains just as soothing as birdsong.

Tubes soothing as birds

To quote Victor Meldrew "I don't believe it". My house backs onto a railway line and I would vote for the sounds of birdsong to calm me down a thousand times over the rumble of trains. However, because I initially saw this as a snippet in yesterday's londonpaper initially, I thought it could do with a bit more research before I came over all Meldrewish.

The noise study was conducted by Salford University as part of a £1m, three-year research project. Dr Bill Davies led the team who are building a database of noises that people say improve their environment. Surprisingly agreeable sounds for urbanites were car tyres on wet, bumpy asphalt (I'd agree with that, but only when I'm indoors tucked up in bed), the distant roar of a motorway flyover, the rumble of an overground train and the thud of heavy bass heard on the street outside a nightclub.

Dr Davies is looking for members of the public to take part in mass 'sound walks' through cities or in laboratory listening tests, where his researchers will plug them into MRI scanners & measure participants' brain activity as they are played a variety of urban noises.

Apparently what's key to our dislike of noise is being able to identify what it is. Davies said "In the laboratory, many listeners prefer distant motorway noise to rushing water, until they are told what the sounds are."

I wonder if Transport for London will use this as an excuse to do nothing about the noise levels of Tubes. Only two years ago research was proving that regular Tube passengers on the Victoria Line should consider wearing ear-plugs. Earlier this year Earl's Court Tube station had a noise abatement order made against it by local residents (admittedly this was about loud public announcements - but it's a similar point).

Perhaps TfL might also use the research as a nice little earner and produce "Tube Lullabies for your Baby" or "Victoria Line Squeals to Sooth you" CD's.


; Posted by Unknown Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/tubes-as-soothing-as-birds.html

Monday, September 24, 2007

London Blunderground

Many thanks to
Jo for spotting the following sticker on the Central Line

London Blunderground taken by Jo

She said "Sorry for the bad picture quality! Had to zoom in and try not to take too many photos of the bad-tempered man sitting underneath it by mistake. I didn't use flash, either - of course."

In the meantime Metronet's blunders & its eventual collapse mean that Transport for London could be footing a bill for up to £1.07bn. On Friday PPP arbiter Chris Bolt published initial findings from his review which stated that TfL might be liable for a pretty hefty amount. Which we all know that if TfL take over Metronet's contracts somehow that billion quid will be found from taxes, raised fares or cut backs on station upgrades.

TfL are seething about the report being published and said "We cannot understand why the arbiter has decided to conduct this exercise outside of the formal extraordinary review process. He has based his ruling on the hypothetical performance of a company that is languishing in administration. The whole thing is bizarre." The same spokesperson maintained TfL's position that it should not incur any of the bill for Metronet's cost overruns.

Watch the saga continue.


; Posted by Unknown Monday, September 24, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/london-blunderground.html

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Guess Where Tube Quiz

London Flickr users might be familiar with the "
Guess where London" game, well IanD has very kindly made us his own version.

He said: "For the past couple of years I've been visiting each Tube station on the network and taking photos of the exteriors and now that I've almost finished (just some of the Eastern Central line stations to go) I was wondering what to do with the photos. To pass away a boring Friday afternoon, I knocked up the attached picture quiz to circulate around the office. Only one person got full marks but not many people here are as fanatical about the Underground as your readers who I am sure could do better."

Mmm, I wouldn't say we're fanatical - well not all of us, but they're certainly a challenge and too be honest I only got about three of them.

He has given some pretty helpful clues, but I think you can manage without them. All I'll say is there are 12 stations in total, one for each Underground line. 5 stations are in zone 1. 6 stations are in zone 2. 1 station is in zone 3. 1 station is in zone 5.

There are no prizes, just the satisfaction of seeing how many of them you can get. Try not to look at the person or people before you when making your guesses in the comments below. I'll put up the answers next week:

Picture 1
Picture 1

Picture 2
Picture 2

Picture 3
Picture 3

Picture 4
Picture 4

Picture 5
Picture 5

Picture 6
Picture 6

Picture 7
Picture 7

Picture 8
Picture 8

Picture 9
Picture 9

Picture 10
Picture 10

Picture 11
Picture 11

Picture 12
Picture 12


Enjoy and thanks again to IanD for devising the quiz.


; Posted by Unknown Thursday, September 20, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/guess-where-tube-quiz.html

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Pantless in Prague

Photo by Josef Vorisek, BleskNo, the National No Pants Subway Ride hasn't become bi-annual and it's not some sort of weird art installation - the nudity on the subway is down to a bet and some kind "friends".

Dennis W, kindly sent me a link to this story which shows how commuters on Prague's Metro are just as blasé as London's Tube travellers.

When the naked man boarded the subway everyone pretended that nothing was wrong:

" 'People were looking everywhere but at him', one of the passengers said later. After a while someone must have alerted the metro staff because the police arrived, covered him up and led him off for questioning.

It emerged that the poor man had lost all his clothes in a bet and his friends had pushed him out of their car in the middle of Prague stark naked. 'He was only trying to get home as fast as possible and he was dreadfully embarrassed - so we let him off the hook' a police spokeswoman said later. "

Lucky that a photographer was on hand to preserve the moment!


; Posted by Unknown Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/pantless-in-prague.html

Monday, September 17, 2007

Would you rename this station?

A London Assembly Member is calling for one of the Edgware Road Tube stations to be renamed to something more intuitive. There are two stations called Edgware Road on the London Underground, one on the Bakerloo line which Murad Queshi believes should be called, "
Church Street Market" and another on the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City Line.


Both stations have entrances on Edgware Road but they are about 150 metres apart and separated by a flyover and dual carriage way, so it is a bit galling if you meet someone at the wrong Edgware Road.

Mr Qureshi said: "Whenever you invite friends and family over via the Tube and you tell them Edgware Road, you always end up going to the wrong one to pick them up because they're at the other." The simple answer is to tell them which Edgware Road you mean and I don't think that Qureshi is going to have a lot of luck with this particular campaign.

He's right in saying that there are "lots of anomalies like this", but if the station names were changed to give a more helpful description to where they literally are that would mean changing, well, err, quite a lot of them. Gunnersbury would be renamed to "Chiswick High Road near that horrible carpark".

TfL apparently get several requests a year to change station names, but very rarely agree to them. The last change was made in 1989 when Surrey Docks on the East London line was renamed Surrey Quays. There's an ongoing campaign for Arsenal to revert back to its old name of Gillespie Road (so far about 4,000 people have signed an online petition).

Fortunately there's is going to be some renaming in Shepherd's Bush which also has two Tube stations currently with the same name. The station on the Hammersmith & City Line will be renamed Shepherd's Bush Market in 2008. This makes a lot of sense as it's a good five minutes walk away from the Shepherd's Bush station on the Central Line.

With so few changes it looks like Mr Qureshi will have a long wait. Many thanks to regular commenter John F for giving me the heads up on this.


; Posted by Unknown Monday, September 17, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/would-you-rename-this-station.html

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Tube Photo of the Week

It's not that common to see temporary signs on the Tube about subjects other than signal failures, delays and strikes, so it was heartening to see the following picture from
Martin Deutsch taken yesterday morning. At King's Cross a person fell onto the tracks and several people managed to stop what could have been a tragedy, so it's amazing to see a public thanks for their action.

Photo taken by Martin Deutsch

Well spotted by Martin and if anyone notices any more cheerful temporary signs on the tube, please let us know in comments.


; Posted by Unknown Thursday, September 13, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/tube-photo-of-week.html

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Oyster card Barclaycard (l)ondoner-card

The combined Oyster card, Barclaycard and errr, lunchtime snack, booze, book & paper card launched yesterday. We first heard about this new card in
December 2006. The Onepulse card combines an Oyster card to use on London Transport, with a credit card and a cashless way of paying for items under ten quid. These currently include Books Etc, Chop'd, Coffee Republic, EAT, Krispy Kreme, Threshers and YO! Sushi. So you'll be able to swipe the one card at the aforementioned shops to pay for your food and drinks.

Barclaycard Oyster card

Sean Gardner, chief executive of a price comparison service site, said it was another step towards a cashless society. He enthusiastically called it

"a genuine advance in the credit card industry and looks set to cause a real stir in London. Experts have been predicting the end of cash for years and this looks set to be another step in that direction."

Hating to be pedantic (as anything that involves carrying less cash around is fine in my books), but why is Londoner spelt with a lower case "l" in the Tube ads? I can understand stylistically keeping everything in lower case, but then why not start the sentence with a lower case "i"? It's looks even weirder because the words: Oyster card, Credit and Cashless underneath the card are capitalised.

Maybe it's just me.


; Posted by Unknown Tuesday, September 11, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2007/09/oyster-card-barclaycard-londoner-card.html
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