Apart from the usual BMW, though in London it would really be BUW (bus-underground-walk), we sampled tow new options of public transit. We went on the Overground, which is a light rail ring around London, and we used London’s bixi bike rental system.

Overground

I had hoped to use the “Boris bikes” a bit more, but the thought of riding in traffic that is flowing in the opposite way of what I expect, did not appeal to me. Our original plan was to get the bikes and ride through Regent and Hyde parks but we soon discovered that bikes are prohibited from most park paths. If our stay was longer I am pretty sure that we would eventually get used to the traffic direction and find less busy roads to bike on, but as is, we had other activities planned.

London version of bixi bikes

The bike stations are not on the main roads as I expected, but tucked in the little nooks and crannies. This is probably because they require space and the trailer that moves the bikes from full to empty slots needs constant access. I saw a decent number of people using these bikes, and the trailers transporting them back and forth were not an unusual sight on the road.

Most people biked personal bikes and I found there were a lot more cyclists than I would expect given the road conditions. However, considering the rising price or owning and operating a car in London and given congestion, distances and density, I suppose it is only natural.

Random view from the double decker

Taking the bus was fun for most part. Rxcept in one instant, there was always a seat or two on any bus and they arrived in decent intervals. When we booked our hotel, we expected to do more trips outward so we got a hotel in zone 2. What actually ended up happening is that we gravitated towards zone 1 so our hotel ended up being quite far from where we went for walks. If we were to do it again, we would get a hotel in zone 1 and shorten the time we’ve spent on the bus.

At the transport museum

We did not intend to go to the Transport museum, but as we arrived at the Convent Garden a little too early for the opera, we decided to peek in and check it out. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in engineering history and public transit.