London Public Transport

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

London's Public Transport:

Dos and don'ts

In today's lesson...

• You'll learn about London's Underground system
  
• You'll find out how to navigate through the city
  
• You'll know what the Underground's dos and don'ts are 
  

     At the time, his sister had just turned 19 and Bert himself was an 11-year-old lad. For the first time ever, they were going on a trip together: a couple of days in London. 

     The first few days, everything seemed to be going splendidly. They hit up many different tourist destinations from Big Ben to Harry Potter's Platform 9 3/4 and from the Tower Bridge to the then recently opened London Eye and took the London metro -which the British call 'the Underground'- everywhere. And like with every story, things go well until they don't.

     As tourists do, Bert and his sister wanted to go somewhere and decided to take the metro. It was only a couple of stops and their time in London was nearing the end, so they hurried down the escalators and into the tube station. Before they had even reached the platform, the metro was already pulling up. The doors slid open. "Mind... the gap".

     Bert, enthusiastic as always, quickly boarded the metro and looked behind him to talk to his sister. A warning sound played. The doors closed. Bert stared into his sister's eyes... through the glass of the metro carriage. Once he realised what had just happened, the train had already left the station and his sister stood on the platform as she suddenly got it: a city of ten million people. No mobile phones. And you've just lost your little brother. 

    Crying and panicking, his sister took the next metro, got out after one stop, looked around the platform, and took the next one. And again. And again. Stop after stop, no little Bert was to be found. Until the last stop: the one she had told him they were going to. And there he was, sitting on one of the benches, patiently waiting for his sister to arrive, without a care in the world. 

    There are two morals to this story. Firstly, always make sure to tell each other where to meet up or how to contact each other if you lose each other. And secondly: always wait until your slow big sister or parent has boarded the train.

    Mr. Verwoerd's other, older sister, when hearing this story being told, chuckled and said: "He always gets lost. This same thing happened to him when he was staying over for Queen's Day at my place in Amsterdam once. He was on the tram, I wasn't. I was panicking just as much but it turned out he just took the tram home and was waiting for me there."

Bert and his sister did NOT visit:

1. Big Ben
2. Platform 9 3/4
3. London Bridge
4. London Eye

The British word for 'metro' is...

1. Metro
2. U-Train
3. Underground
4. Subway

ANOTHER British word for 'metro' is...

1. Shuttle
2. Tube
3. Zoom
4. Zip-line

When you go somewhere,
always remember...

1. your favourite colour
2. where you've just been
3. what you've had for breakfast
4. where you're going

What to do on the tube

1. take off your backpack

2. get up for old/pregnant people
3. first out, then in
4. stand on the right, walk on the left

What NOT to do

1. eating

2. playing music

3. talking loudly
4. standing still after passing a gate

Are any of these rules different from the Dutch public transport system? If yes, please explain.

Lastly... you're in London and the unthinkable happens: you've lost your group!

In groups of 2, look up a detailed map of the Underground, 

and  suggest the best Underground routes for the next three scenarios.  

Scenario 1: You've made so many Abramovich jokes near the Chelsea stadium that Russian tourists who are also Chelsea fans start harassing you and your group quickly leaves without you. Run to the nearest Tube station and get back to the hostel: YHA Earl's Court.

Scenario 2: You've eaten so much British licorice that you're both sick and homesick. Right under Big Ben, you decide to book a flight back to Mommy, which leaves from Heathrow Airport terminal 2. Find a metro there.

Scenario 3: You thought you needed to go to tube station Hatch End for an Easter egg hunt. Unfortunately, there's nothing there. Make your way to your friends who are at London Bridge but be aware: due to construction, the Yellow, Red, Brown and Dark and Light Blue lines don't go today.

IN THE NEXT 5-10 MINUTES, FOR ALL THREE SCENARIOS, 

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

• Which line(s) do you take?
• And in which direction do you need to take these lines?
• Where do you start from? Where do you end up? 
• Are there any transfers, and if so, at which station?  
  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/travel/downloads/tube_map.html