To the 15 million people who live in Greater London, this story just sounds unbelievable. London transporation system has been voted the best in the world.
London's taxi drivers, famed for knowing the maze of streets of Europe's largest city like the back of their hand, have been voted the world's best taxi drivers. The taxi drivers of New York, Paris and Mexico City are the worst in the world whilst Los Angeles has the worst public transport system.
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London's transport voted the world's best
29th August 2006
The best: London's transport came top in a poll
Passengers packed on to Tubes or facing long waits for buses may not believe it, but London had been voted the best city in the world for public transport.
But the UK capital was also considered to be the most expensive for public transport in a poll of international tourists conducted by the TripAdvisor company.
London was voted best overall for public transport by a quarter of respondents, followed by New York (16 per cent) and Paris (12 per cent). Los Angeles came bottom.
Nearly a quarter of the 2,000 respondents, and 62 per cent of Britons polled, voted London transport the most expensive.
London cabbies topped the poll as being the best, while New York, Mexico City and Paris were considered to have the world's worst taxis.
Nearly three in five claimed to be have been "taken for a ride" during their travels by taxi drivers overcharging and/or taking them on a wrong or longer route.
Washington DC, which was voted fourth overall, was considered to have the cleanest and safest public transport system.
More than 70 per cent of travellers said they use public transport while holidaying in a city away from home and three-quarters of the respondents said a city's public transport system was a consideration when determining where to visit.
Two in five said the most important quality of a transportation system was that it went everywhere they needed to go, which was considered even more important than safety (30 per cent), proximity (16 per cent), frequency (5.5 per cent), cost (4 per cent), cleanliness (1 per cent) and comfort (0.8 per cent).
Nine per cent of respondents said they would avoid using public transport because of recent concerns about terrorist threats.
TripAdvisor's director of communications Michele Perry said: "London's public transport services get a lot of bad press but it seems that the international travelling community think it's the tops all round, even taking into account that it is also thought to be the most expensive.
"This is clearly a major plus in attracting visitors to London. The fact that nearly 75 per cent of travellers said they take public transport into consideration when planning their trips suggests that a quality system is of great importance to a city's tourism industry, not just its commuters."
dailymail.co.uk
London's taxi drivers, famed for knowing the maze of streets of Europe's largest city like the back of their hand, have been voted the world's best taxi drivers. The taxi drivers of New York, Paris and Mexico City are the worst in the world whilst Los Angeles has the worst public transport system.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London's transport voted the world's best
29th August 2006
The best: London's transport came top in a poll
Passengers packed on to Tubes or facing long waits for buses may not believe it, but London had been voted the best city in the world for public transport.
But the UK capital was also considered to be the most expensive for public transport in a poll of international tourists conducted by the TripAdvisor company.
London was voted best overall for public transport by a quarter of respondents, followed by New York (16 per cent) and Paris (12 per cent). Los Angeles came bottom.
Nearly a quarter of the 2,000 respondents, and 62 per cent of Britons polled, voted London transport the most expensive.
London cabbies topped the poll as being the best, while New York, Mexico City and Paris were considered to have the world's worst taxis.
Nearly three in five claimed to be have been "taken for a ride" during their travels by taxi drivers overcharging and/or taking them on a wrong or longer route.
Washington DC, which was voted fourth overall, was considered to have the cleanest and safest public transport system.
More than 70 per cent of travellers said they use public transport while holidaying in a city away from home and three-quarters of the respondents said a city's public transport system was a consideration when determining where to visit.
Two in five said the most important quality of a transportation system was that it went everywhere they needed to go, which was considered even more important than safety (30 per cent), proximity (16 per cent), frequency (5.5 per cent), cost (4 per cent), cleanliness (1 per cent) and comfort (0.8 per cent).
Nine per cent of respondents said they would avoid using public transport because of recent concerns about terrorist threats.
TripAdvisor's director of communications Michele Perry said: "London's public transport services get a lot of bad press but it seems that the international travelling community think it's the tops all round, even taking into account that it is also thought to be the most expensive.
"This is clearly a major plus in attracting visitors to London. The fact that nearly 75 per cent of travellers said they take public transport into consideration when planning their trips suggests that a quality system is of great importance to a city's tourism industry, not just its commuters."
dailymail.co.uk