Travel around town is likely to focus mainly on these two modes of transport. Tubes cover the longer distances, buses are good for hopping.

Bus

The bus map and timetable for London is a beautiful thing to behold, but a work of towering complexity.

In general buses work best for ‘hops’. Oxford Street is a conveyor belt of red buses with shoppers jumping aboard for a stop or two, then alighting. All stops have a list of bus numbers which stop there (on the sign) and attached nearby will be a route summary and timetable. Look for a number going your way and when it approaches put your hand out. If no-one’s getting out and you don’t hail, it doesn’t have to stop.

Black taxis are everywhere. A more costly method of getting around (unless there’s five of you to split the fare), true, but very convenient. They sit a punishing exam (the ‘Knowledge’) to qualify which takes up to 4 years; so they know their business. They’ve memorised 25,000 streets, so don’t be surprised if you get an understated nod, when you state the destination. They’re simply calculating the quickest way to get there, taking into account current traffic, roadworks, etc. Once they’ve ‘crunched’ the route, expect some friendly banter, they’re famous for it.