10 reasons why we love our work commute

Brand new Circle Line trains, expanding your mind and a chance to find a little solace – Susannah Butter finds joy in the journey to work
17 February 2014

If life is a journey not a destination, the latest news from the Office for National Statistics seems unfortunate. It has found that our daily trip from home to office induces misery. Commuters who spend between an hour and 90 minutes travelling each morning suffer most, becoming less happy and more anxious.

But these studies only tell a partial truth. Commuting need not be grim. This unavoidable reality of London life can be something you’ll look forward to. Here are 10 reasons we love the ride.

Circle of Love

It happened last September. Instead of the usual rammed, stinky Circle line train, a vision of the future drew up — in every way bigger, better and more beautiful. The new S7 stock is a lovely bit of design and engineering. There’s so much more space. You seem to have a much better chance of getting a seat on one of these but it doesn’t matter if you don’t — it’s so pleasing, so much less crushy to stand in than the old cars. Because the cars are one long space, you can move around the whole train easily and feel less claustrophobic. The really great innovation won’t come in until summer: the S7 is the first London Tube train ever to be air-conditioned. Yes! I’ve lived to see it: being on the Tube without getting sweaty. So when one of these babies rolls up to the platform, you feel lucky — it’s a cheering little treat every time.

David Sexton

The knowledge

Weirdly, the morning commute coincides with the moment I feel sharpest; it also offers the longest period of unpunctured solitude of the day. If you get a seat, it can be incredibly productive. I do my best writing on the Tube. I’ve learned conversational Italian on the 106 bus. And it’s also when I get the most sustained reading done, free from phone bleeps and intrusive colleagues. The longer and less broken the journey the better.

Richard Godwin

People-watching

All human life (and the occasional pigeon) is underground. There was the man who breakdanced around his suitcase on the Central line, the chap who solved a Rubik’s Cube between Green Park and Victoria, and the guy who boarded a train with a cake — only to share it around the carriage. And then there’s the potential for spotting the famous and beautiful. Ladies: Tom Hiddleston, heir apparent to Benedict Cumberbatch, has been seen on the Tube...

Rosamund Urwin

It’s a marathon

Marathon training is hard to fit in. However, running to work means you swap the fetid clamminess of the Victoria line for the February wind chill of the concrete jungle. Plug in a play-list and get pacing: you’ll rediscover your love of London.

Phoebe Luckhurst

Let there be light

It has long been my winter ritual: checking sunrise times in the cold months to see when it will finally be light as I leave the house. Web developer Richard Everett’s newly created darkmornings.com, which tells commuters how many dark journeys to and from work they have left this year, may have been made just for me. But since I began cycling to work three years ago I have been considerably less vitamin D-deprived. Even if the sun rises only halfway through my bike ride, I still see bright skies for a little of each day, a far greater joy than life underground. Indeed, cycling to work has made me see the light.

Jasmine Gardner

The Switch-Off

Underground, with no phone signal, internet or badgering colleagues, there is a sense of peace. Doctors report a syndrome called commuter amnesia, where people retreat into a light hypnotic trance as a defence mechanism, but this escape is an opportunity to reach a meditative state. The focus is on reaching your destination and all else pales into insignificance as you relax. Just remember to breathe...

Susannah Butter

Sudden beauty

Cycling a 15-mile round trip each day means I see a lot of London tarmac but there are also unexpected glimpses of nature: a silver full moon over Marylebone, hyacinth scent floating up from a garden square or a fleet fox racing my bike through Tufnell Park. Last week, after months of inky winter cycling, I was dazzled by a glowing red dawn over the Serpentine. I slowed to enjoy the view. Then a souped-up BMW veered across the road and screeched to a halt on the pavement, its driver leaping out to film the spectacle. Normal service resumed.

Charlotte Ross

The masters of conduction

I recall being slightly underwhelmed when sent to become the first journalist to board the new Boris bus. I hadn’t realised what the conductor could bring to our lives. These joyous souls — greeting us when we hop on, giving us directions, taking our payment and discussing the day’s news — are a bright spot amid London’s grumpiness and murk.

Joshi Herrmann

The Voice

Every day I hope to be in the car at 5.30pm to catch the second half of PM on Radio 4. It’s all about the dulcet tones of Eddie Mair on my commute home to help me unravel the tensions of the day.

Emilie McMeekan

Us!

As one discerning reader emphatically told us: “The Evening Standard is the only reason to get the Tube.” We can’t argue with that. The paper is now available in all 32 London boroughs from zones one to six. Where else can you get award-winning news, features and comment — completely free?

Susannah Butter

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