Buy your ticket before 4:30 PM if you value humanity. After that, it’s “rush hour.” You’ll be packed into a train car like sardines in a tin that smells of rain and coffee. Your ticket doesn’t care. It just knows you paid.
Fun fact: The busiest station is Waterloo. Over 100 million people pass through it yearly. That’s the entire population of the Philippines. But quieter, because Filipinos are lovely. Londoners during rush hour are silent warriors.
The Paper Ticket Crime
You can still buy a paper ticket from a machine. But don’t. They’re flimsy. They get eaten by the gate. And the machine will only give you change in heavy 2p coins that weigh down your pocket like a punishment.
London Underground Ticket Office Photos and Premium High Res Pictures
Plus, if you buy a paper ticket, the Oyster card snobs will notice. They’ll give you a pitying look. It’s like wearing a bright red “I Am A Tourist” hat. Except the hat is a tiny slip of cardboard.
