London for one, is infinitely more accessible without a car than LA is. London is compact, dense and when it's not raining cats and dogs it is a city that is truly a pleasure walk in. LA is a city where car is king, the urban (and suburban) sprawl seems never ending. However, that is changing, hence the title of this post - Tube vs Metro.
I have to say, the Tube is amazing! It goes virtually everywhere. It runs frequently enough that I never had to wait long for a train to arrive. The Metro is, well, not amazing but it is expanding and I am very happy about that!
The biggest problem with the Tube is that it is (like most things in London) very expensive, which meant that if the trip was walkable...I did so. Another strike against the Tube was its lack of late night service. I'm a night owl and an all night service would have been awesome. The Metro wins this round because it's only a buck fifty to ride and provided you don't change lines, that buck fifty will get you a very long way. Also the Metro runs 'til 2am on the weekends, which (if I'm able to ignore the weirdos) makes me very happy!
The funniest difference between the two is underground etiquette. Everyone in London knows that you stand on the right and walk up the left...no one one has a clue here in LA and the escalators are used willy nilly...but if the Metro keeps expanding, maybe that will change!
Maybe I should start an underground escalator etiquette class...
