September 22

Transport

Unless you plan on living and sleeping in the student centre for your entire degree, learning how to get around London is definitely a vital skill that you need to get to grips with.

Summary points of what’s to come:

  1. Citymapper
  2. Money saving
  3. Look carefully at transport when picking where to live
  4. Prioritise your safety: night tube / bus and taxis
MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE: CITYMAPPER
  • Downloading this app is the easiest thing you can do to make navigating London’s confusing bus and tube lines.
  • It has very accurate bus and tube times along with a number of unique and useful features:
    • Shows the cost of each of the routes
    • Has bus only options
    • Can search by when you want to leave or arrive
    • Step free travel options
    • Shows the price of a cab to go the equivalent distance
    • Has walking options that stick to main roads – important when walking home in the evening
    • Shows cycle hire options
TOP MONEY SAVING TIPS
  1. Get an 18+ Student Oyster card – gives a 30% discount on on adult-rate travel cards and bus and tram passes (apply online and top up in tube stations)
  2. Walk where possible – UCL is in a brilliant, central location and often its not only cheaper, but quicker to walk than take the bus to get around the area
  3. Use the same contactless device / Oyster card all day so the cost of travel is capped. The cost of this cap is dependent on what modes of transport and which zones you have travelled through
  4. Buses are cheaper than tubes – though taking the bus may make a journey longer, it could help you save nearly £1 per journey
STATIONS AROUND UCL
  • It’s useful to have a good idea of the stations around campus for easy travel around the city
  • Knowing which tube lines are near can be very helpful when trying to decide where to live – which places have a shorter commute than others.

Underground 

  • Euston (5-10 min walk)
    • Northern
    • Victoria
  • Euston Square (3-5 min walk)
    • Circle line
    • Hammersmith and city line
    • Metropolitan
  • Warren Street (5-8 min walk)
    • Northern
    • Victoria
  • Goodge Street (8-10 min walk)
    • Northern
  • Kings Cross St Pancras (15 min walk)
    • Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan
    • Northern
    • Piccadilly
    • Victoria

Train stations nearby

  • Euston (5-10 min walk)
  • King’s Cross (15 min walk)

Bus stations – there are large number surrounding every side of UCL

  • Its best to use an app like citymapper when trying to decide which bus to take and from which stop to
  • Remember to check whether a bus has an equivalent night bus or if it is 24 hours a day when planning travel
Cycling

Bike rental is everywhere in London using phone apps and cycling can be a great alternative if you feel like getting away from rush hour on the tube or bus

  • Electric bike rental
    • Lime bikes – don’t have to be docked and are free standing, but must be parked in allowed areas
    • Forest bikes – first 10 minutes each day are free, making a journey usually cheaper than lime bikes. Though they are sometimes harder to find – also don’t have to be docked
  • Santander bikes
    • Docked at stations and non-electric, have to ensure where you are travelling to has a docking station with space to take the bike
    • Slower, therefore can be safer and easier to control
SAFETY AND TRAVEL AT NIGHT

Night bus and tube:

  • Different bus and tube lines have different running hours, its vital that you check this before going out in the evening so you don’t get stranded
  • Night tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights on the Central, Jubilee, Norther, Piccadilly and Victoria lines – meaning these lines run for 24 hours on these days

Taxis:

Sometimes the safest option is to take a taxi, particularly when travelling home late at night or after drinking.

  • The most popular taxi services are Uber and Bolt with Freenow and black cabs as runners up
  • Uber and bolt trips in particular can very fairly priced and have options to share the status of your trip with other people

General safety

  • Message friends or family with expected journey times when travelling at night
  • Share your location with trusted people
  • Don’t wear headphones or listen to music when travelling on public transport / walking at night – remain aware of your surroundings
  • Keep your phone and valuable belongings hidden when travelling in busy areas / at night to avoid them being stollen
  • If someone approaches you, remain polite and unaggressive
  • If someone threatens you and demands you give them your phone / wallet, stay calm and give it to them – report it to the police in a nearby shop afterwards and freeze any cards- your phone and wallet are replaceable, you are not.