Reasons to Hate the Tube #1: The Walk-and-Read

There’s nothing like a good book to fill your Northern Line commute, am I right? It’s either literature or staring at the blank, soulless faces in your carriage.

Only you’re not one of the millions of (normal) people who do this (an estimated 4million commuters get the tube a day). Instead, you’re part of a growing epidemic who think it acceptable to read while walking. Aside from a map, when did this become an acceptable hobby to do while in motion. You don’t drive your car and read FHM do you? You don’t walk around Tesco as you indulge in some Chaucer?

So why do people think it’s acceptable to do it in right in the middle of rush-hour on the Underground?

The walk-and-readers seem blissfully unaware, happy to plod along blocking all available space. It must be an enthralling text to be so engrossed that you don’t notice the queue of city workers forming behind you.

And just when you think you’re free, they meander into the empty space that’s just opened up. Mark my words, the Metro is never that important. And don’t even get me started on those locked to their blackberries replying to emails underground. That’s a sin unto itself.

Tagged: London, London Underground, Metro, Reasons to hate the Tube, Subway, TFL, The Tube, Train