There was a tube strike last week. Well, a partial one. It affected certain parts of the central line. The initial plan was for parts of the central line and the Waterloo and City line. In the end, the staff of Waterloo and City line changed their minds and Central line was left to strike on its own. 

In view of the fact that another tube strike is planned for the coming week, this time on all lines for 3 days, here are a few tips for getting around town:

1. Plan your journey using alternative routes. Use the bus, overground, cycle or walk if your destination is within walking distance. A good app to use is Citymapper to find the best routes and travel options. Truth be told, I only heard about the app a few days ago. The younger colleagues at work knew about the app and there seemed to be an age divide between those who knew about the app and those who did not. Now I know about it and I have downloaded it, no more age divide!

2. Leave enough extra time for your journey – one to two hours – to the normal commute time. The other day on my alternative route, it took over 30 minutes to get into Ilford station. So many people had thought of this alternative route too. Never mind that it also took 3 attempts to get on a train because of the number of people on the platform.

3. Take a deep breath and be determined to “Keep calm and fret not”. One English man on the platform after several attempts at getting on the train rained abuse on an Asian man who got in before him, taking on the last available space and making him wait for the next one. He started out calmly asking the guy before the doors closed – “Are you ok?” Asian guy didn’t know (neither did I) that he was being sarcastic. He answered yes. English guy then said, you are ok after pushing me to get on, you [expletive] man, why don’t you go back where you came from? etc. Asian guy was shocked, and so was I! Fortunately, the doors closed and the train moved off before the Asian guy could finally understand the extent of the anger. Back on the platform, English guy continues his foul mouthed rant, even calling his wife/partner (I guess) that he’s going to be late because of one [expletive] man who blocked him from getting on the train. When the next train arrived, I gave him enough room to get on the train before me as I didn’t want to be his next victim. Yes, thanks to Brexit and Donald Trump, racists are free to express themselves in public.

4. Entertain yourself on the go as the journey is longer than usual (remember you had to allow extra time re number 2?). Play music you love, read a book, watch a movie, do something to distract you from the guy whose arm pit is right above your nose or the other one breathing down your face.

5. When you finally get home, try not to take out your frustration on the family who have no clue what you have been through.

6. If all else fails, work from home! Commuting during a tube strike is not for the faint hearted, I’m afraid.