What Londoners really think about on the Tube

On the Tube:
• Women are twice as likely as men to be thinking about their sex lives
• Most commuters spend up 2 hours a week thinking about work
• Commuters use the ads to avoid eye contact

Most Londoners think:
• Red Buses and the Tube are a bigger London icon than the Queen, Nelson’s Column, Eros and the Millennium Dome
• The quality of life is better outside of the capital

Ever wondered what the person sitting opposite to you on the Tube is thinking? The answer is even if they are looking at the ads instead of making eye contact, it’s very likely to be you.
This is amongst the findings of the most comprehensive study of the behaviour and attitudes of London commuters ever conducted. The London Commuter research by Viacom Outdoor, the company that manages advertising on the London Underground and London’s red buses, found that far from regarding their journeys as wasted time, travellers on the Tube make active use of these free periods.
The study found that most London commuters have free time to think while on the tube (42%), compared to those who read a paper, book or magazine (35%) or listen to music (11%).

A large proportion think about work (65%) when they are travelling, perhaps unsurprising considering that 70% of journeys made on the London Underground are either to or from work. In fact, Viacom Outdoor found 38% of Tube travellers spend up to 2 hours a week thinking about work and a further 14% spend anything between 2 and 6 hours thinking about their jobs while they are on the move.

But Viacom Outdoor’s report reveals that commuters’ thoughts often stray onto other things. The study found that 43% of people think about the strangers they’re travelling with, rising to 45% for women. Female travellers are also far more likely than men to be thinking about their sex lives - 42% compared to 22% for men.
Tube users are also likely to be day dreaming about family and friends (55%) and their plans for the weekend (38%). But the study found they were more likely to be thinking about their next meal (24%) than their next holiday (20%).
The Tube beats the Queen as a London icon

The research also found that the capital’s travel network is one of the most prominent symbols of London life. London travellers see red buses as second only to Big Ben in terms of being viewed as London’s most powerful symbol. In fact, red buses rank above the Houses of Parliament, Black Cabs, The London Eye and even The River Thames in terms of their symbolic importance. The London Underground is also rated highly. As an icon of the capital the Tube ranks ahead of The Queen, Nelson’s Column, Eros and the Millennium Dome.
Fifty percent of London travellers also regard their local Tube station as an essential part of the community, with just 17% not regarding it as important. And commuters have an improving view of the Tube as an environment to travel through. Half of those surveyed thought the London Underground is a cleaner place to be than a year ago while only 7% felt it has declined.
How commuters avoid eye contact
A third of commuters think that advertising on the London Underground brightens up their journeys. Indeed, Viacom Outdoor found that advertising on the Underground serves a useful social purpose, providing commuters with something other than their fellow travellers to look at particularly during busy periods*. In addition to their role in maintaining British travel etiquette, the study found almost 60% of commuters deliberately stood close to a poster because they were interested in looking at it and almost 50% said they found ads on the Tube useful or informative.
The sceptical Londoner
The London Commuter research also reveals that many of the capital’s citizens feel the benefits of London life are being outweighed by the negative aspects of big city living. The study found that 58% felt there was a better quality of life to be had outside of the capital. Slightly less than half (48%) thought London was worth living in despite the expense and only 35% agreed with the old saying "If you are tired of London, you are tired of life."
Stephen Fuller, Head of Consumer Insight at Viacom Outdoor comments: "This research gives us a unique insight into the mindset of tube users and it is fascinating to learn that in most cases they are less stressed and much calmer than is widely believed. The Tube is a vital part of Londoners’ daily lives. It’s a place where, in many ways, commuters enter their own world with time to use productively as they wish.
"It’s interesting to learn that many London Tube travellers are thinking about their fellow passengers and their love life as much as work and leisure time. It’s also clear that Londoners believe the Tube environment is improving and that many appreciate advertising on the tube as a source of information and entertainment."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Methodology:
Viacom Outdoor’s "The London Commuter" research involved three phases:
1. An online questionnaire completed by 1,100 London commuters
2. An observational study of the behaviour of Tube travellers covering different times of the day and at different stations across the capital
3. A hand held electronic diary (similar to the system proposed for IPA Touchpoints) completed by tube users who reported over 1,000 journeys on the London Underground network.
The research was carried out by TNS in April and May 2005.
*Finding from the observational stage of the study.