Get On, Clip In, Fall Off

Dark vs Light vs Whatever

My morning commute can usually take one of three forms, and I'm trying to figure out which of these is best on balance. These choices are:

1: Train (Thameslink) to Wimbledon, then another train to Waterloo, then the Northern Line to Goodge Street.
2: Train all the way through to Farringdon, then a quick hop on the Metropolitan or Circle line to Great Portland Street.
3: Bus to Morden station, then Northern Line all the way through to Goodge Street.

While option 1 is generally the fastest, it involves the biggest crowds and shoving onto already busy trains. It also involves two changes. Option 2 is usually the most comfortable as I can just get on a train and sit on it for ages, but it also takes a long time, particularly given that there's still a short underground journey at the other end. Great Portland St tube station also offers less options for getting things like expensive coffee. Option 3 may appear to be the most convenient, but the frustration factor is high as it involves hanging around waiting for untimetabled buses that may or may not turn up without leaving me at the bus stop for 20 minutes. It also means a lot of rolling through dark tunnels as the Northern Line's in tunnel all the way to Morden.

Right now the lengthening days are making me more enthusiastic about option 1 than before, as it's nice to see as much daylight as possible before sitting in a flourescent-lit office. Option 3 is a good fallback if I miss the train or can't be bothered to hurry to catch it. Option 2 is useful if things start to go wrong - it's probably the most reliable of the three.

What to do, eh, what to do?

Posted by mpk at February 25, 2004 11:26 AM | TrackBack