Tube etiquette in London

Here are a list of basic rules of etiquette to follow when travelling on the tube in London – they’ll help ensure that you don’t get pushed or sworn at, any more than is the norm! I once had a friend visiting me in London, who was stood blocking the exit of the tube because she was wearing a massive backpack – she wondered why people were getting so mad with her, but never thought to step off the tube to let people get past. Read these tube Ps & Qs to make sure you don’t end up as unpopular as her with your fellow passengers!!!

1. If you’re listening to your music on the tube, that’s fine, but try to make sure that no-one else can hear it. Do a quick test by taking out your earphones and seeing if you can hear your music through them. Alternatively, buy a pair of quality Noise Isolating Earphones to make sure no noise escapes.
2. On escalators, always stand on the right. The left-hand ‘lane’ is for those people in a hurry who wish to walk up or down the escalator.
3. When you pass through tube barriers, always keep walking for a few paces, so you don’t block the exit of the barrier for the person following you. This applies both when entering and exiting the underground.
4. Always have your ticket/Oyster card ready, well before approaching the ticket barriers.
5. On tube platforms, spread out – you’ll often find that the front or rear of the tube will be the least crowded but people tend to swarm towards the middle section. 
6. Don’t cross the yellow line – people do it all the time, but if you want to remain safe, then avoid crossing it.
7. Once inside the tube carriage – if you’re lucky enough to get a seat, ensure that there isn’t a pregnant, elderly or disabled person who needs it more than you.
8. It is common, but certainly not compulsory for a man to offer a vacant seat to a woman, rather than take it for himself. However, it would be unusual for a man to stand up to let a woman sit in a seat he’s already occupying.
9. If you’re in a packed tube carriage and are stood next to the doors when people want to leave the train, it is polite to step off the train briefly, to allow passengers to leave, before getting back on. If you do this, then be sure not to let passengers who have been waiting on the platform muscle past you. You’ve done a good deed, but don’t get walked over in the process.
10. If you’re wearing a rucksack, or any other type of bulky bag, take it off and put it on the floor. If you don’t, you’ll lose your spatial awareness and keep bashing into people behind you that you didn’t realize were there.
11. Never take up a spare tube seat by putting your bags/other belongings all over it.
12. Never try to squeeze two people onto one seat, unless you’re carrying a small child. Girls sitting on their boyfriends knees are just annoying.
13. When it’s busy, don’t crowd around the door exits - if there is space in the aisles, then stand there. There is a handrail to hold on to and you’re more likely to grab a vacant seat when people get up.
14. Drinking alcohol on the tube is not allowed.
15. It is recommended that you don’t eat food that is particularly messy or smelly on the tube so as not to upset your fellow passengers.
16. Do not leave your bags unattended. Since 7/7, passengers are extremely nervous, with good reason, about unattended bags and may well alert the driver if they see a bag that appears to be abandoned. This will cause a security alert, which you don’t want to be the cause of.