I’m not being funny but… transportation. Where do we begin? London has been going through a difficult time when it comes to transportation, as has the rest of the country. I’m not about to politicise things but we all know that strikes and endless “engineering works” have disrupted our great city to the point where it’s not just inconvenient and annoying, but also ends up costing us more and can verge on dangerous for those more vulnerable to abuse like women and and the LGBTQ+ community.
As a country that already has some of the most expensive public transport in Europe, most of us also rely on it, whether it’s to go to work every day or for leisure.
The fact that these disruptions are almost guaranteed every week is unacceptable. I’m not here to try to fight that though, as it’s a losing battle. One thing we take for granted at this point is the ease with which we can now hail a cab.
With countless apps at our disposal, we can still get around the city regardless of what mess TfL create on the daily commute. You have the big boys that everyone knows about, whose safety and security is all right but definitely questionable at times. (Side note — it’s bizarre that London is one of the only cities in the UK that doesn’t require every vehicle to display its private cab licence).
For once I’d like major companies to acknowledge their responsibility to give back to the community
And then you have our black cabs, our fully licensed, safe and reliable, long-time friends of the city. I know that they come at a premium, but the knowledge our cabbies have of London is second to none. They’re very much an institution and I’m lucky enough to be in a position where they’re my preferred mode of transport. I tend to use Gett or other apps that work with London black taxis. A couple of years back, they introduced the surcharge (usually £15 extra!) — that’s a fee added on top of their rate when demand is apparently elevated. These days it’s surcharging the majority of the time. How is getting a cab at 2pm in Pimlico “peak”? I’ve been talking to a lot of cabbies and they don’t seem to approve, I guess because they don’t even f***ing see any difference in their pay cheque.
What’s the reason for this, Gett? At a time where a lot of us have no choice but to walk, cycle or take cabs, to me this feels like corporate greed. For once, I’d like major companies to acknowledge their responsibility to give back to the community just as much as they take out of it.
Anyway, we’re three weeks into this journey with the Standard and it’s not all doom and gloom, I promise. It was my birthday on Saturday. I had a great time celebrating. Usually I can’t get out of throwing a massive party but this year I just about managed. I spent it hosting my nearest and dearest at The Maine, one of my favourite spots — plus it’s dog-friendly which we know is important to me. I also had the opportunity to meet night czar Amy Lamé. She reached out after reading my first article. My first question was “what exactly is it you do for a hundred grand a year?”.
Turns out “quite a lot actually”, she told me. We don’t hear about the good being done in the world anymore, just the bad, and while I do like my gripes, I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t use this platform to share some good too. I was thinking to write about how dire the London nightlife scene is right now but upon researching and reflecting, I question — is it?
London’s night-time economy is what shapes and adds value to living in this city and without it we’d all be f***ed. To hear at length that the night czar has been instrumental in approving licences to new venues, extensions and working with developers to guarantee new spaces was eye-opening.
Some of the plans the Mayor’s office has for London are shaped on our historical spaces and it’s so exciting to see that some of those notorious venues multiple generations knew in our youth will or indeed have already made a comeback. Exciting times for Drumsheds and Here at Outernet, two of the biggest and most forward-thinking new venues in the country. I’m going to go deeper into the topic of nightlife next week. I leave you with a little bit of house music — Grant Nelson and Lynsey Moore’s Hurt You So (House Mix).
