As I am wrapping up my time in London, I have been reflecting on some of the aspects of this trip that I will miss when I make my return back to the United States. The most standout aspect is definitely the sheer accessibility and availability of public transport. The most popular choice of transport is the subway, or as they call it in London, the tube. There are eleven tube lines and a station within a mile’s walking distance in nearly every corner of the city. Anytime I have wanted to go anywhere, there is almost always an option for how public transport can get me there.

Last week, I had some free time and looked online for any activities I can do to spend my time. I stumbled upon an art exhibition at the Old Royal Naval College London. This exhibition is nearly 12 miles away from my residence at the Stay Club North Acton, and I worried about how easy it would be to get there. Google Maps told me to take one of the tube lines and transfer to a different type of train, the DLR, which is a slightly different type of train compared to the tube as it is fully automated and driverless. Although this was my first time navigating the DLR, I was surprised at how easy it was to scan into the station using Apple Pay and the numerous signs pointing me to the DLR station from the tube station were extremely helpful. After this experience, I had navigated buses, the tube, the DLR, and overground train throughout my time in London. All of these systems have been as easy as tapping in by Apple Pay and using Google Maps to see where the stations are and the easiest route/method of transportation to get anywhere.

I have taken public transport in Pittsburgh and it is certainly useful in many ways, but there are also reasons that I would argue it falls short of public transport in London. My family lives only about six miles from Pitt’s campus, but I have had challenges in instances where I have tried to take public transport to get to campus. Being from the South Hills, the Pittsburgh Light Rail, or referred to as “The T”, has many stops that go straight into downtown. In experiences where I have had to go to downtown for events such as sports games, taking the T has been very convenient. However, the T is largely limited to the Downtown and South Hills areas, and going to Oakland would be further complicated by having to switch to the bus. The one time I took public transport to campus, it took me nearly three hours including the time to get to the T station in the South Hills and switching from the T to the bus in Downtown. While I appreciate the transport systems in Pittsburgh, London’s systems are accessible to every part of the city, even on the farthest outskirts. Living here as a student without a car, Uber has always been a last resort due to how reliable London’s transport is to get anywhere. I will certainly miss the freedom of being able to go wherever I want using London’s prominent transport systems, and I learned a lot by experiencing how different cities set up their infrastructure for their needs.