A lone commuter waits for a train at the Russell Square station. Weekday ridership on the Tube is down 15 percent. (By Scott Barbour -- Getty Images)
Posted on 08/08/2005 9:17:19 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
LONDON, Aug. 8 -- Zsofia Csaba, waitress at Sanctuary pub, rode subway to work every day until July 7, the day bombs exploded on three Underground trains and a bus, changing the rhythm of her life and her city. Since then, she has ridden bike, preferring not to use transit system where 52 passengers and four presumed bombers perished and 700 people were injured.
One month after the terrorist attacks, London is trying to get back to normal but finding life has changed. Guests in some hotels are searched and wanded with metal detectors. Thousands of police officers patrol streets. Every siren from every passing ambulance or firetruck makes Londoners wonder if it has happened again. And record numbers of people are taking to bikes and skateboards or simply staying home rather than using one of the world's most storied public transportation systems.
Tim O'Toole, former Philadelphia rail executive who runs Tube, as London subway is informally known, said in interview that ridership was down 15 percent during week and 30 percent on weekends. O'Toole said the greater drop-off has come from weekend and holiday travelers who ride the trains by choice rather than necessity.
O'Toole said that ridership after the July 7 bombings "snapped back" but that the attempted attacks on July 21, in which bombs failed to detonate, had a larger impact. However, with a heavy police presence and 6,000 security cameras in the subway -- and plans to double that number -- O'Toole said he was confident that the angst in the subway would subside.
Nearly 3 million people a day continue to rely on the Tube as the only affordable option to get around London, where gasoline prices hit nearly $6 a gallon this summer and the parking and tolls make Manhattan seem like a deal.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
A lone commuter waits for a train at the Russell Square station. Weekday ridership on the Tube is down 15 percent. (By Scott Barbour -- Getty Images)
bttt
It's time for racial profiling.
(intro)
They will kill you when you're riding the train
Of course, they will kill you when you're flying a plane
And they're gonna kill you boarding a bus
They'll say, "Infidel, you are not one of us"
Beware...Muslims in London...beware
Beware...Muslims in London...beware
In the mosques they have been preaching hate
People awoke just a little too late
All over Europe they've become a big threat
It's not too late to stop them yet
Beware...Muslims in London...beware
Beware...Muslims in London...beware
(musical break)
If you see some guys with towels on top their heads
Chances may be good that they are wanting you dead
You cannot profile...I guess that's just not right
Oh, well, I guess you could die tonight
Beware...Muslims in London...beware
Beware...Muslims in London...beware
You must always be so sensitive
Don't hurt their feelings...live and let live
If you're living by that little rule
Your mama has raised up quite a fool
If you don't know that they want conversion or your death
You must be on meth
Bewaaaaaaaaaare...Muslims in London...beware
Bewaaaaaaaaaare...Muslims in London
The high cost of multi-culturalism and 'tolerance' has caught up with Britain and fewer are willing to pay the price anymore.
We are living in times that bring a greater understanding to the Spanish Inquisition. One of the several main purposes of the Spanish Inquisition was to uncover the tens of thousands of Muslims, Spains former masters, of whom many had 'converted' to Christianity for the purpose of subversion and sedition.
Why doesn't Europe learn from history? Why do they think the followers of Mohammed have changed into peaceful people who want to 'live and let live'?
Because of the fearsome costs of WW1 and WW2, they don't WANT to think that they are anything other than peaceful people. They've been shattered by war twice (three times if you count the Cold War) in the last century. Central Europe in particular is in a state of denial.
That said, learning the important lessons from history seems to be something that Europeans have some sort of problem doing. Of course, that might be because all of the people who *could* learn the lessons moved to the USA...
bttt
bttt
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.