Page 215 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - England's South Coast

TR A VEL INFORM A TION  213

want to board, raise your arm
as the bus approaches; if you
want to get off, ring the bell
once before your stop.
London has bus lanes, intended
to bypass traffic jams. These can
be effective, but your journey
could still take a long time.
Schedules are hard to keep to,
so regard timetables as advisory.

Driving A tour guide with cyclists beside the Royal Artillery Memorial
Driving in central London is Guided Bus Tours
discouraged, with a congestion but at push-button crossings,
charge in force. If you drive or Weather permitting, a trip on cars will not stop until the
park within the congestion zone an open-topped double-decker green man lights up.
from Monday to Friday (7am to bus is a good way to see the The TfL website features
6pm), you will be charged £11.50, city. The Original Tour and seven suggested city walking
which is to be paid online or by Big Bus Tours offer hop-on, routes, and you can book a
text before midnight that day. hop-off services, with tickets range of walking tours through
Not paying the charge will lead valid for 24 or 48 hours. VisitLondon (see p195). Blue
to a heavy fine. See TfL’s website Badge tour guides can also
for more information. Parking in River Buses be booked for special tours
central London is expensive and through Guide London.
controlled to prevent congestion. Regular River Bus services are
operated by MBNA Thames DIRECTORY
Clippers on five routes from
Taxis 20 piers between Putney and Underground
London’s famous black cabs are Woolwich. You can use a contact- TfL
almost as much of an institution less card or Oyster card to pay.
as its big red buses, though you Tel 0343 222 1234
will now see them in a variety of ∑ tfl.gov.uk
different colours or covered in Cycling Buses
advertising. They are the safest Cycling is one of the greenest
taxis to use in London since ways of getting around London. Citymapper
all the drivers are licensed and Santander Cycles is a public ∑ citymapper.com
have undergone strict tests. All bicycle-sharing scheme, with
licensed cabs must display an distinctive red bikes available Guided Bus Tours
orange “Taxi” sign, which is lit for hire at docking stations
up whenever they are free. The across the capital (check the TfL Big Bus Tours
newer cabs are equipped to website). London Bicycle Tour ∑ eng.bigbustours.com
carry wheelchairs. If a cab stops Company rents out bikes The Original Tour
for you in London, it must by and organizes bicycle tours. Tel 020 8877 1722
law take you anywhere within a Traffic in London is not very ∑ theoriginaltour.com
radius of 10 km (6 miles) so long cyclist-friendly, and is definitely
as it is within the Metropolitan not for beginners or the out- River Buses
Police District. This includes most of-practice cyclist. Keep to the
of London and Heathrow Airport. cycle lanes, where available, MBNA Thames Clippers
All licensed cabs have meters never leave your bike unlocked, Tel 020 7001 2200
that start ticking as soon as the and always wear a helmet. ∑ thamesclippers.com
driver accepts your custom. Most Cycling
drivers expect a tip of between
10 and 15 per cent of the fare. Walking London Bicycle Tour
If you have a complaint, note Although it is large, London Company
the serial number found in can be enjoyably explored Tel 020 7928 6838
the back of the cab. on foot. Remember that traffic ∑ londonbicycle.com
Visitors are advised not to use drives on the left, and do take
unlicensed minicabs as they may care crossing the road. There Walking
be mechanically unsound or are two types of pedestrian
uninsured. Licensed minicabs will crossing: striped zebra crossings Guide London
always display a TfL sticker. Never and push-button crossings at Tel 020 7611 2545
accept any offer of an unbooked traffic lights. At a zebra crossing, ∑ guidelondon.org.uk
minicab ride in the street. traffic should stop for you,

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