American Reacts Why isn't cycling normal in London?

Original Video: Why isn't cycling normal in London?
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[@lilyliz3071]

It’s not just London where double deck busses run, they are all over the UK especially in cities

[@xlerb_again_to_music7908]

Ah, Thatcher. The fight between political left and right. With vengeance, as a decade before her power the Tories (Conservatives) had been pushed out of office by a crippling miner's strike (early 1970's). Now back in power, Tory knives were out. Essentially the start of turning the UK's post-war soft-socialist culture (the State provides everything) to winner-takes-all (esp. ££), with not a care about resulting poverty and long-term consequences. Viciously divisive as Thatcher targeted the income for many living communities and ripped that away. Popular due to winning the Falklands war, she kept this program going past a mid-point of balance. Essentially, she didn't know when to stop and it went too far. Thatcher was/is greatly hated in many parts of the UK, as her policies directly pushed major groups into poverty by eliminating industries so to eliminate workers. For the miners, this was a deliberate means to remove their power. Like creating the Detroit rust-belt deliberately. If they have no jobs, they cannot strike - simple. This was writ large across (essentially) the North-of-London industrial areas. Many town and cities found major portions of industry (and income streams) lost inside a decade. In my home town, the number of hi-tech workers (defence, radar, electronics) went from 12,000 jobs in 1980 to c. 500 jobs in 1990, due to Thatcherite policies pulling the rug out from under industries (except the service industries which were finance, insurance, tourist related). Another local example - shoe making in a city of 100,000 people. About 10,000 workers c. 1970, nearly 100 now. Without prospects for work / career path, training for skilled working professions plummeted - later leading to major skills shortages, initially solved by importing (from EU) skilled workers. That has now gone wrong as Brexit has pushed many back to the EU. The Right loved this, as their income was protected and standing on the faces of workers was to many great sport. This deeply harmed the UK as a nation, while pushing profits up for some.

[@individualmember]

All this (above), high unemployment, lack of jobs, I came into adulthood during the 1980s and left home, relocating in London at age 19 just to look for work. That was very common and tore the guts out of communities all over the country, especially in the north of England, as a generation of young adults left the places they’d grown up. To be brutally honest, most British industry had been in decline since the 1960s if not before because of the unwillingness of industrialists to adapt to the changing world. They carried on making slightly better versions of what they were making in the 1940s and 50s while manufacturers elsewhere, particularly in Japan, transformed their product ranges and their methods. Look at cars and motorbikes in the 1980s, british ones were an embarrassment so of course we bought German or Japanese cars and bikes! But Thatcher’s policies drastically and deliberately accelerated that collapse. When Reagan in the USA lowered interest rates, here in the UK the interest rates increased dramatically. It screwed up the economy until the mid 1990s, several years after Thatcher left office.

[@mats7492]

ive just been to London 2 weeks ago.. Cycling is WAAYY more common now than it was a couple years ago.. Lots of new cycling infrastructure is being build

[@markthomas2577]

Every town and city in the UK pretty much has double decker buses ........ I guess it's because a large percentage of our population lives in crowded cities and conurbations and it's more efficient than having twice as many single deck buses !

[@beeurd]

In Worcestershire we're lucky we have buses at all. 😅

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

@@beeurd You have the 'sauce' though... 😄 👍 🇬🇧

[@grahvis]

I've used a double decker bus to go to a market 20 miles away through the Welsh countryside. The only thing is being pushed aside by old women fighting to get up the stairs to get to the front seats.

[@DavE-bh8lz]

Almost all big cities and towns in the UK have double decker buses. It's nothing to do with tourism. It's simply because they can carry more passengers than a single deck bus.

[@elunedlaine8661]

Buses in London have been around since 1908. There were a lot of people travelling to work etc. who didn't have cars, so large numbers of folk needed to be transported together. Buses are not just a tourist attraction, but a vital way of moving people around and about. The RM buses which had the open platform at the back were introduced to London in 1956 and were withdrawn from regular service in 2005

[@DomingoDeSantaClara]

Oh god,another American that says windmills,get with the 21st century Connor,the bloody things are wind TURBINES,windmills died out 200 years ago.

[@michael_177]

I've tried telling him multiple times lmao.

[@iainsan]

Double-decker buses have existed in the UK from Victorian times when they were horse-drawn. Then, the top was open air. Trams were also double-decker. Such buses exist in most British cities, but the London ones are red, while the rest are various different colours.

[@bucklberryreturns]

The UK used to own all its own services and infrastructure, Thatcher sold off British Telecom, Gas, encouraged the sale of council housing, privatization of the railways etc etc (I may have one or two of these wrong, I was young back then...you get the gist). As such, private companies who were about profit took over, and everyone had to pay more, for a service with those in charge not being beholden to the general public.

[@shakya00]

Before Thatcher, the UK was the poor man of Europe and not anything worked anymore. After the "privatization" of railroads/trains it became more efficient and safe. In terms of price Idk...it is still cheaper than our public monopoly in France...There is a difference between the facial price and the price you really pay. I have no doubt that the facial price have increased in the UK but on the other hand taxpayer pays less than before.

[@Steve-gc5nt]

I'm old enough to recall the strikes, rubbish not being collected, Green Goddess', the power cuts, the unburied deceased. Etc etc Maggie took her handbag to all of that, thankfully.

[@superted6960]

Thatcher didn't privatise the railways. John Major did that

[@bucklberryreturns]

@@superted6960 As I said above Ted, it may not be 100% accurate. He was however her successor in the conservative leadership role. Many businesses linked to the rail network were sold off under her stewardship. So it was basically a continuation of the work done under her government.

[@jswmonkey197]

@@Steve-gc5nt Yup, no more strikes after a few years of Thatcherism because for half the country there were no jobs left to go on strike from.

[@lloydieization]

The UK was known as the poor man of Europe before Thatcher's era, in part due to having quite a few socialistic economic practices at play, the unions in the UK were among some of the worst examples of unionisation going wrong, the unions for example effectively killed the UK automotive industry (used to be 2nd largest in the world), anyway, Thatcher aided with the break up and closure of these Unions and Industries, namely Automotive, Mining and Rail (government owned was sold off to private companies) as the government stopped baling out/legislating for these uncompetitive (from an international perspective) industries/companies . Hundreds of thousand of people lost their jobs and whole communities where "decimated", for example the now closed mines were usually the only employers in the community. Hence why she's disliked, but on the flip side our fall from 4th wealthiest country to the 6th was halted primarily due the tough choices that Thatcher made. Yes its way more complex than that, but that's pretty much it in a nutshell.

[@hiramabiff2017]

" I shall drag Britain kicking & screaming into the 20th century " A wise woman once said....As a poor ignorant east end working class family living in Hackney Margaret Thatcher's legacy for us is this....My children became the 1st in our family to attend University. I was only the 2nd person in 40yrs in our family to buy my own home & my grandchildren will be reaping Thatcher's legacy when I am gone. I spit in the eye of socialism everyday & I am proud to live on this beautiful Island.

[@Stevenc1984]

That's a very good summary 👍🏻

[@Junoleda]

Most of Britain was developed pre car so our roads are more narrow, we are also very densely populated so again not much room to expand our roads

[@catherinewilkins2760]

Margaret Thatcher was very divisive, she pitched communities against each other. She had a perceived lack of compassion. My way or the highway. Double decker buses everywhere, before buses, Double decker trams, carry more people.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

Who can forget “Thatcher, Thatcher, milk snatcher” - Getting rid of the free milk program for school children over the age of seven. Started in 1940 when children and pregnant women were issued milk to prevent malnutrition that might be brought about by wartime shortages. Then, with Britain mired in an economic crisis, Thatcher claimed that the free milk was 'too expensive' and proceeded to steer through legislation to stop free milk...

[@michael_177]

Cathrine loves margaret thatcher.

[@coot1925]

The reason for a bus having a second deck is simple. It gives you twice as many seats for the same footprint area. The thing that pisses me off is when there's a lovely smooth cycle track and you find some knobhead cycling on the road. I call them militant cyclists. Their argument is "I have the right to use the road, so I will". Even if it puts them in danger.

[@parasnipermore]

Lovely smooth cycle track hahahahaha you mean puncture every 2 feet because of all the shite that cars throw of the road onto them so actually it is safer and faster on the road , except when you get some inconsidrate cuntface who thinks that the roads are just for cars and them alone.

[@ianburke3991]

I love the way your anecdotes tail off. Oh the suspense on how the tale plays out leaves one on tenterhooks. Also you get a better view if you sit at the front on top.

[@sjoerd5629]

7:43 About the doubledecker bus... I don't live in London (I live in the Netherlands), but I think it is mostly about saving space; London is a very busy city with very heavy traffic. A doubledecker bus takes up less space and is more manoeuvrable (in thight spaces) then an articulated bus.

[@mats7492]

you are correct central london streets are too tight for long buses.. they do exist in the suburbs of london though

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

You are spot-on... The double-decker bus has a very tight tight 'turning circle' (allowing it to get around the London streets and corners easily). Even more amazing is the built-in, low 'centre of gravity'. This means all buses are tested to an extreme angle of 'tilt'. Even when fully loaded on the top deck, it can tilt over at around a 35 degree angle and not fall over - so extremely safe.

[@lg_believe333]

I’ve been a motorist, a cyclist and a pedestrian in London, so, I can see everyone’s perspectives. But I cycle more nowadays in London and feel cyclists are stereotyped as riding their bikes recklessly, when in reality those that ride their bikes recklessly are not the majority, and are labelled as such by pedestrians and motorists alike. But in 2007 I was knocked off my bike by a speeding vehicle, who drove his car recklessly, disregarding the Highway Code, unlike me, who had the right of way. And I’ve lost count how many pedestrians cross the road without looking first, because why? They’re more interested in looking at their mobile phones. Let’s be truthful about this, and be honest careless road users exist in all categories.

[@Jon1950]

Nice reference to Leslie Hore-Belisha, after whom the belisha beacon was named. Although I haven't heard anyone call them that for years.

[@joshcrawford4076]

Yeah we have those bike paths for leisure all around different towns

[@petervaughan6854]

The bikes are £2 a day (max of 30 min journeys), or £90 per year. There’s also a cycle to work scheme you can do via work which brings that down to about £50 per year

[@JohnOConnell]

Renting one of those Cycles in London is £2.50 - $3 - for the whole day. But you can only use it for a maximum of one hour a time before you have to return it to one of the bays, otherwise you will get charged extra. But you can do this multiple times in a day, with a delay period between renting. It’s really cheap which is why it’s really popular. And it’s partly cheap because it’s sponsored by Santander Bank.

[@bigglesace1626]

i've driven in London hundreds of times in recent years and can state cycling is alive and well there. During rush hour cyclists are all over the place, weaving in and out of traffic, ignoring red lights, hunting in packs with their helmet gopros. Many are responsible riders but a significant number are thoughtless, self-righteous, car-hating idiots. I cycle when I can so am not anti cycling, but I am at a loss to understand the attitude, behaviour and sense of entitlement of some cyclists.

[@eZTarg8mk2]

Yep…there’s a subset of very entitled aggressive arses on bikes that end up giving all cyclists a bad rep

[@Matt09pearce]

ive managed to narrow my frustration only to the cyclists that are convinced theyre training for the tour de france.

[@grahvis]

@@eZTarg8mk2 . There are also a subset of very entitled aggressive car drivers as well but car drivers don't get lumped together as a group to hate. Could there be some bias I wonder.

[@eZTarg8mk2]

@@grahvis not really, i'm equally critical of them and idiot motorcyclists. I use all 3 as personal transport and the idiocy tends to manifest in different ways...but this thread is about cyclists specifically. I specifically said a sub group because i don't class all cyclists as some sort of monolithic entity....i'd suggest perhaps the bias is on your part assuming i meant all cyclists when i never said that 🤷‍♂️

[@grahvis]

@@eZTarg8mk2 . By saying there is a subset of cyclists, you are separating cyclists as a group from other road users.

[@zaphodbeeblebrox6627]

‘Boris bikes’ are usually used by tourists and are hired by the hour. You don’t have to return the bike to the same docking station it was collected from. So for example, you may rent one in east London, but drop it off when you’ve finished with it in the west end. As long as there’s a docking station ( about 800 scattered around London)you can lock the bike into when you finished with it the system will recognise it as finished with and will bill you accordingly. You can then collect another bike from some other docking station if you’ve travelled somewhere else by bus or the tube to elsewhere in London.

[@MrBulky992]

I like the way he dressed as a "Belisha beacon" when Belisha, the transport minister from the 1930s was mentioned. These "beacons" are put up one on either side of the road where there is a particular older type of street crossing (a "zebra crossing" marked with thick striped black and white lines across the carriageway as seen on the cover of the Beatles "Abbey Road" album). They are metal poles painted with a vertical black and white striped design and surmounted by a large, orange, illuminated flashing globe.

[@jonjohnson2844]

There are double decker buses all over the UK, perhaps not as many as there used to be - I think one of the issues are the amount of low bridges affecting routes. Plus there seems to be more frequent buses that maybe don't need to seat 100 people so it's probably more efficient to run the single deckers.

[@nbartlett6538]

The idea of those bikes is not to rent them for a whole day, you rent them for a single journey. In fact I think they are free for the first 30 mins.

[@stephenlee5929]

Boris Bikes were rented by the Hour not the day and were cheap. If you arrived in Central London by train, you could pick up a bike and ride to your office, if you bought a bike, you (generally) couldn't bring it into London by train, then use it for the last mile (or 2) of the journey. At the outset of the 'Boris bikes' Londoners (people who lived in London and registered for Council Tax) could get a card which allowed them to hire a bike for free for 1 hour (I think that's what I remember), note free so long as you dock it in an hour from taking it from its dock. You could then take another if you wanted. I was a good scheme (I think it probably still is) not sure what the cost is these days..

[@martinlehtonen]

Having a own bike in a city is very restrictive. You have to put it somewhere securely and you have to go back home with it. With a rented bike you can just put it in a station and forget about it. You can change your plans on a whim and take a train or the tube back. With your own bike that couldn't happen. City bikes are easy and convientient!

[@nettcologne9186]

Berlin has always had double-decker buses. They are the successors of the horse-drawn double-decker buses that were found in all major cities, whether Copenhagen, Hamburg or Vienna. The red double-decker buses from London are only better known than the yellow ones in Berlin.

[@DrDaveW]

I’m not sure about the cost of the bike hire. It’s like car hire. You don’t have to maintain it or worry about it being stolen. It’s not as convenient as having your bike at home, but you might not have room to store one anyway. At the end of your journey you can just walk away and leave it for good.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

Exactly... Private bikes need to be locked / unlocked (with heavy duty locks and chains etc.). otherwise they will disappear... Also many tourists use the bikes and may only be in London for a few days. And good point about storage as many people live in flats or with limited space.

[@johnm8224]

Double-decker buses ARE quite prevalent elsewhere, particularly in the UK. They're used because they're much higher capacity for not much more space on the road - useful if there's lots of traffic.

[@johnp8131]

Connor, concerning your question near the end. I live near Cambridge where cyclist are extremely well catered for compared to much of the UK, many cycle paths go all the way out to the suburbs and adjacent towns too. There are also plenty of new, wide cycle paths in local more rural Cambridgeshire areas. These don't get used that much, even for commuting, because many cyclist here are "MAMILS", MIDDLE AGED MEN IN LYCRA. And therefore are too fast and important to use them!

[@IanDarley]

Double decker buses are useful in very populous cities because they can carry twice the amount of people whilst using no more road space.

[@Cabdrum1]

I don’t believe for one moment 60% of all London rush hour journeys are on bikes.

[@individualmember]

Compared to driving cars perhaps, if he meant journeys along those particular routes, but surely not if you include commuting by tube.

[@ElectariumTunic]

7:42 - I live in a small Swedish town (

[@dyread]

Yeah we have double decker buses in Dublin in Ireland. They are green so probably don't stand out as much as a red one, so tourists may not ever really notice them or something. I think the red is what makes the London ones stand out

[@mikeh2006]

Double deckers allow for more people per vehicle but using the same road space as a single decker. Also when utilised properly a double decker is more effecient both environmentally and financially. Youl find them in most cities and even some towns with busy link roads to other towns. 100 years ago double decker buses were horse drawn and were called omni buses, with 1st class people having the lower deck, and 2nd class used the upper, which was often open.

[@Codex7777]

Neither the old telephone boxes, nor double decker buses, were designed with tourists in mind. Both were designed before large scale tourism was a thing. Their designs are purely practical.. The phone boxes were red, so as to be easily spotted and enclosed, do that you were out of any wind and rain when making your call. Red was also the brand colour of the Post Office, which for a long time also ran phone services in the UK. They were also designed not to look ugly. The double-decker bus developed out of the double-decker trams that preceded them. They're a practical design, made to carry roughly double the number of people, as a single-decker bus/tram, with the same road space. Not all were red originally, as different companies had different liveries. Post WW2 the buses were nationalised and red was chosen as the colour for this new public transport service, in all but a few areas. After the buses were re-privatised, in the 1980s, London Transport decide to keep most buses red, as that's what most people wanted, despite the actual services being run by a plethora of private firms, under the umbrella of London Transport, now TfL, or Transport for London. However, double-deckers are found all over the UK, not just in London and red remains a popular colour elsewhere too. There are also a lot of single-decker buses in London too but the double-decker remains the most practical choice for the busiest bus routes, which in London, particularly Central London, is most routes. :)

[@GaryGernon]

Red double-decker buses are symbolic of London but double-decker buses in general can be found in just about every town and city in the UK.

[@stephenlee5929]

The Iconic London bus (double decker) was the Route Master, it was designed for London commuting, 2 person operation, driver and conductor. It had an open platform at the back, which people got on and off while it was in traffic/moving slowly. Loading was fast, fares were collected by conductor. It had I high passenger count and was very monovalent given its size. It is also surprisingly stable can lean to 28 degrees with sand bags (to simulate passenger) on the top deck without toppling.

[@mikefraser4513]

And a conductor who run up and down the stairs (good exercise), giving you a ticket which was about one foot long. It was great jumping on to the old double deckers where you had to get on/off at the open rear.

[@lauraholland347]

Double decker buses are needed if lots of people use them-congestion in London means single deckers are not practical. Yes you get bike lanes in more suburban areas- I live in Stratford (near the Olympic Park) we have them here.

[@chadUCSD]

I live in Edinburgh Scotland (UK) and we have double decker buses here (& a tram system), as do Glasgow where I previously lived, had double decker buses there too. Double decker buses carry more passengers and make the system less congested.

[@lazyeyejohn]

We have double decker buses here in ireland but they are painted blue and yellow. We also have lots of bike lanes, you can hire a street bike for less than 5 euros a day.

[@johnhatch6748]

Double decker's are all over the country, typically inner cities. Same footprint area but double the capacity of a standard bus.

[@adammullarkey4996]

15:10 No. Human arms aren't designed for flight, so they don't provide lift. The only way to fly, even with mechanical assistance, is to add large wings, and at that point, you basically just have a plane. Or, since you're flying by flapping, technically an ornithopter (Ornith = bird, opter = wing, ornithopter = bird wing. It's a real word)

[@jruz1738]

Erm we use double decker buses because, surprisingly, they hold more passengers than single dockers.

[@northbytrain]

You can find double decker buses in quite a few places such as the UK (of course); Canada and Hong Kong.

[@taabuu2342]

Double decker buses are now a lot more common in Ireland as well

[@StrongandStable17]

Double Deckers have been around since the 30s in Ireland.

[@boskee]

1. London is not the only British city that operates Double Deckers 2. Look at the population of London to see why having 2x the number of passengers per verhicle may be a better idea than a single deck bus.

[@lg_believe333]

I’ve been a motorist, a cyclist and a pedestrian in London, so, I can see everyone’s perspectives. But I cycle more nowadays in London and feel cyclists are stereotyped as riding their bikes recklessly, when in reality those that ride their bikes recklessly are not the majority, and are labelled as such by pedestrians and motorists alike. But in 2007 I was knocked off my bike by a speeding vehicle, who drove his car recklessly, disregarding the Highway Code, unlike me, who had the right of way. And I’ve lost count how many pedestrians cross the road without looking first, because they are more interested in looking at their mobile phones. But their irresponsible behaviour has consequences, because it can make cyclists swerve to avoid them and a collision, but it places the cyclist in danger with oncoming traffic, coming up from behind them. Let’s be truthful about this, and be honest careless road users exist in all categories.

[@harrygreb8427]

Never seen once cyclist do a life saver, check to see of it's safe to move position in the road, wear lights so they can be seen- a camera is more important so they can blame everyone else for their stupidity.

[@lg_believe333]

@@harrygreb8427 I’m a cyclist and I have lights on my bike. I take responsibility for my actions, and I don’t ride carelessly. All I’m saying, if you’re genuine, say it like it is. Irresponsibility doesn’t lie solely with cyclists alone. I’ve seen plenty of irresponsible pedestrians and motorists as well. Plenty!

[@StephMcAlea]

Jesus, man. The state of the roads in Barrington! Every town has a cycle network but there's also a national cycle route if you fancy riding all around the country.

[@PedroConejo1939]

Out of town cycling routes are quite common here, though I think it depends where you live. Mostly, they are shared routes for pedestrians and bikes, but generally, that works well if the track is wide enough. There's one on the main road I live next to that is wide, fully separated, very well used and runs 8 miles between towns. It also joins up with tracks when it arrives in each town too. There's also quite a lot of disused railway lines about the country that have been converted to shared paths too, some of them many miles in length. They have the advantage that they tend to be relatively flat, because trains.

[@vaudevillian7]

Double decker buses definitely exist all over the UK, they fit more people on while taking up the same area of the road as a single decker…London is just famous for red ones

[@martinlehtonen]

We have loads of those bikeways outside of the city here in finland but the problem is the missing bikelanes in the city. It's getter much better here in Helsinki though for the past 10 years as funding for bikelanes has increased

[@julielevinge266]

Holland is completely flat so perfect for bikes👍

[@bradgooner3284]

well not completely flat when you factor in the earths curve of 8 inches per mile squared. unless you know the earth is flat?

[@Codex7777]

Things have moved on a lot in the last decade. There are dedicated cycle lanes everywhere and most major roads are having dedicated, segregated cycle lanes being built alongside. Cycling has become even more popular. Other cities are doing similar things and the national network, of interconnected cycle routes, has been expanded.

[@emdiar6588]

I went to school.on a double decker every day, 120 miles outside London.

[@verenak2158]

At least in Berlin doppel decker buses are also a thing. I think they are only used in cities where buses can get crowded, so you need extra space.

[@xlerb_again_to_music7908]

Plenty of double-decker buses in New York. The top deck is mostly air, so weight is almost identical to single-deckers but near x2 capcity. Simples.

[@FortisConscius]

Double decker bus = compact. London is very cramped. London is the sardine can of humans.

[@will4may175]

As others have said the Double Decker Bus is all over UK, the red double decker is famously known for London but that was started by London General Omnibus Company who did all it's fleet in red to stand out and it stayed, you mentioned Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the phone box, but others are the Black Cab (taxi like the yellow cab is famous in NY etc) Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and the London Eye (which now gets destroyed in disaster movies) which we mainly cover it in fireworks for New Years Eve celebrations.

[@Cabdrum1]

All these restrictions on motorist are not due to any success of cycle usage but are to encourage and persuade people to cycle.

[@mikeh020011]

I live in Grimsby on the east coast of England. My local council has just built a 10 mile cycle track to Immingham just up the river Humber . This is to promote people working in Immingham to stop using their cars and cycle instead. Good luck with that. After a 12 hour shift, I do not want to cycle home.

[@frglee]

I found it was bloody dangerous cycling in Central London 35 years back, and I've no reason to change that opinion. The roads are packed, drivers pass too close, cycleways are inconsistent and people park on them, motorists open their doors without looking in the mirror first and you get sworn at (or fined) if you cycle on the pavements. Oh, and bikes, even with locks, often get stolen by gangs with industrial bolt cutters and vans. Public transport in London is very good; frequent buses go everywhere. The tube is pretty good too. It's quite a good city to walk in though; for many journeys under a mile (20 minutes on foot) you can often walk faster than the time it takes to find, wait for and use public transport. Good exercise too!

[@grahvis]

There was a particular type of double decker bus, the Routemaster that was a London classic. Cyclists represent about 16% of the traffic inCentral London, rising up to 50% in rush hours. It is quicker than a car. The rental bikes are used for individual trips rather than for regular use.

[@andr386]

We make a difference between the highway, roads and streets. Blocking the traffic on a bridge is totally acceptable and the safest way on a street or a road. Cycling on the highway is strictly forbidden. This viewpoint evolved from considerations related to city streets and as it was widely accepted it progressed to more rural roads as well. When those streets and roads are redesigned they are usually done with the bicycle in mind and to avoid such problems from happening. But when it's not possible a cyclist is encouraged to take the whole lane and pretty much go in the center as to make sure to be seen. Also people expect cyclist on those roads and the speed limits have been lowered.

[@mericet39]

1. So - this bridge near you - clearly it's designed for cars only. That's surely bad - why shouldn't other people be able to use it? What if you don't have a car and need to cross it? 2. Double decker buses are common all over the UK, not just London. Why? Much higher passenger capacity. Us Brits don't think of double-decker buses (or simply 'buses') as any sort of symbol for tourism. Purely as transport. Having said that, open-topped buses are for tourists.

[@stephenlee5929]

Re bike lanes outside cities, Yes we do have them. We even have national bike routes, including 'Route 66' which goes from Kingston upon Hull to Manchester. They can run along side roads, or next to canals or on old (disused) Railway Lines.

[@kumasenlac5504]

A better question would be why nothing in London is normal and yet its denizens seem to think otherwise.

[@westerngothia59]

In the episode What happend to the Londom Trams he explain about the busses in London.

[@denisrobertmay875]

Double Decker buses; Advantages: more passengers for given road space. Tighter turning circle. Disadvantages: longer passenger loading/unloading (especially with driver only operated vehicles), height restrictions, some stability/passenger safety issues. As Horse drawn omnibuses double decks were more widely spread as were double deck trams and trolley buses. Compared to other Cities London prioritised the road space saving an the maneuverability. Famously Hong Kong also uses double deckers.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

Although the 'driver only' part of your comment really doesn't count because it's mostly 'tap in', so more to do with the odd baby buggy or person who waits until they are on the bus, before starting to look for their Oyster, OAP or Debit Card - LOL ! It was so much quicker with the open platforms and no doors; I do miss the jump on / jump off buses... 😉

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

The reason you wouldn't be able to fly with your arms is that they don't have the profile of an airfoil, so no matter how fast you flap you arms down, you'd always push the same amount of air up when you move your arms up again.

[@martinkane]

It is about 2 Pounds a day for a rental bike in London.

[@Diamondmine212]

The amount of traffic is insane,and for an example a while back 6 cyclists were killed in the centre of london in just 2 weeks.!

[@lynnepashley4281]

I live in a small village in Yorkshire and we still have the odd double decker but mostly single

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

Berlin also has got Double-decker buses

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

You should watch a few videos on roundbaouts!

[@SNMG7664]

The entire UK has double decker buses, they're extremely common, it's the red buses specifically that are a London thing.

[@Stevenc1984]

I don't live in London, but do live in a city where cycling is starting to be pushed very heavily by the local council. Central government is also linking funding to cycling participation so many cities are now blocking off their roads and promoting cycling. This would be great if where I lived wasn't built on several very high hills, you could actually leave your bike locked up then return to it without it being stolen and turning up places smelling of sweat was socially acceptable.

[@pontinrob]

You said the one thing i hate and sadly lots of people in UK say it Big Ben is the bell you get a postcard and see the clock tower not Big Ben, genuinely if you don't drive in London you use the tube it's so easy.

[@stevenallen6176]

Check out auckland NZ. Double decker buses are common

[@mandysharp4571]

I live in Yorkshire and we have double decker buses. They are all electric vehicles now. They have seating areas for wheelchair access and they have ramps for push chairs and wheelchair users. It's more economical to have an upstairs on a bus. They tried bendy buses, but they don't work. Also we in leeds have a cycle lane everywhere.

[@superted6960]

And occasionally you see a cyclist on one

[@mandysharp4571]

@@superted6960 err I live in Otley Yorkshire and we have team sky and 3 World championship cyclists here lol. We are in fact having a world championship championship race in a few days. The whole town shuts down from 5pm. We have several events in the cycling world. So our whole roads have more cyclists than cars very often. The car drivers hate it though.

[@superted6960]

@@mandysharp4571 I live east of Leeds. Leisure cyclists everywhere particularly weekends. I was thinking of the cycle lane that runs from Seacroft to Leeds City Centre. Cost £30m. Mostly deserted.

[@richhughes7450]

It all depends on your mindset. You could be lazy or unfit or want to conserve your energy for work. I have cycled alot but not to and from work. I did a 107 miler on a Saturday that had 90% rain and had a near miss with a car overtaking and cutting in to early them braking due to traffic. I also had umpteen cars drench me driving past. London is full of traffic and impatient angry drivers rushing to get places. I would not want to take on the capital on a pushbike.

[@mikeh2006]

I wont drive in london again. After phoning tfl to pay whatever charges applied to my car, i was then fined twice anyway. Once for going into a ulez section even though they said i didnt, and another for parking in a 'pick up drop off 2 min' in which I was doing just that and was there for 30 secs. The camera couldnt see the sign, so i appealed with street view evidence but they ignored it. Ive been driving 17 years and have never had any points or fines in my life, then I get two in 2 days in london.

[@Matt09pearce]

double decker busses are just busses, my guy. take em to school, work, etc. i guess i'd see a coach to be more tourism related.

[@nicola1175]

You can rent a bike in London for 24hours for just £2

[@XENONEOMORPH1979]

trust me you do not want to get on a bus the seats have a musky smell that get on your clothes ,you have more chance of having a argument or some drunk or food thrown all over the place the driver getting harassed ,people trying to get on without paying a fare best way is to stay down stairs women get harassed upstairs although the driver may know about it he will ignore it as they have cameras so stay downstairs having your own car is just as bad but at least you can get away from it.

[@nicola1175]

I have just got back from Amsterdam last week , and the cyclists are nuts . Very skillful though x

[@andrewhallam237]

Thatcher was a Tory. In a nutshell Tories look out for the rich and labour look out for the poor. A lot of people hated Thatcher because she introduced taxes that were hated, she broke the trade unions and she closed down the coal mines leaving a lot of people jobless with no prospects. People who are well off love her because she protected their money.

[@moo5613]

double deckers are everywhere in the UK

[@Diamondmine212]

If you want to live a long and healthy life that’s a good enough reason.

[@glastonbury4304]

because we don't have an infrastructure really for bikes and public transport is so extensive and safer , why bother...lol

[@seancurran8108]

If your right wing you love Thatcher. If your left wing you hate her. It's that simple. The issue is there is a lot more left wingers in UK. Most of the USA citizens would love all her political and economic policies.

[@matthewmac5787]

I think it's more of a location issue rather than a political one. Good or bad her choices caused a lot of towns to lose most of their businesses and a lot of people to lose their jobs and turn to low paying or dangerous jobs to make ends meat. So it depends on the towns & county's that were effected. For example I know she is absolutely despised in the parts of Wales and Scotland that were negatively effected and seen as a more nuanced/positive light in places that were not.

[@darrylbrookes2780]

dubble decker bus has higher capacity with smaller turning circle which works better on british/roman roads bang for buck .... simple

[@Jliske2]

Margaret Thatcher was someone who appealed to neo-liberals, the kinds of people who would've supported Ronald Reagan. That's why she's about as divisive as Reagan himself should be (progressives like myself hate Reagan with a passion)

[@mccorama]

She is loathed in Scotland and the North of England.

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

Erm, you forgot the link to the original video :/

[@martj1313]

Windmills was a bit random.

[@nicola1175]

When I drive to work in London, the cyclists rule the roads and have thier own rules 🤔

[@ThomasDonnelly1888]

6:45 She hated the poor

[@MichaelJohnsonAzgard]

London isn't the UK.

[@daviel6595]

Hated in Scotland thatcher Probably wales and north England

[@andyblogger1]

Very little about London is normal.

[@icedidi]

count me as a Thatcherite 😁