Submitted by Ayanna Posipanko on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in London, England sponsored by the Department of Music…
Being in a large city such as London, it is expected in the modern era to have public modes of transportation such as buses and the subway. Having grown up in a suburban area, there was never any public transportation available beyond a taxi service beginning at the train station and thus I had very little experience beyond the occasional day trip to New York City. What I did not expect was the sheer convenience of the entire Tube (subway) system.
Having only ridden on subways and buses in New York, my experience was limited to that. Namely, that the stations were largely inaccessible by those in wheelchairs (my brother is in a wheelchair), the stations are few and far between, and navigation of the subway system is difficult without prior research.
When initially arriving in London, I was surprised at how easy it was to arrive and look at a map to figure out what line to take, where to transfer, etc. Settling in at the hotel, there is a Tube station right next door, with 3 others as well as a national rail services line within walking distance. This covers all the various lines that I would need to access during my time here. As such, while London is a huge city, everything is available at my fingertips and even places at the edge of London, such as the Heathrow Airport, are about an hour’s travel from me. This makes navigating the city effortless and simple, one of my main concerns when planning for my travel from the United States to the United Kingdom.