Should my year 7 DS travel to school on the London Underground?

[Juliet57]

The London Underground is the most polluted part of the city. The level of air pollution underground is very high. It is proven that air pollution is particularly detrimental to children. And so I wonder whether DC should travel on the tube. Anybody have a DC travelling to school on the tube?

Nobody's getting defensive? Just pointing out the bleeding obvious.

Triffid1, worrying about air quality and the impact of that on your child's environment is not exactly leftfield!

When you make the choice to live in London you have to accept all that goes with it. Not that hard to understand?
If air quality is that big an issue to anyone they need to move somewhere else.

Op, I get your worries. Although many people use the tube without any adverse effects, the effect of air pollution in London on people - and children- is well documented.

However, what are your alternatives?

Could you send him a less-polluted way when pollution levels are high? You should be able to get daily updates online as to air quality.

Personally, I find the air quality in central London in the height of summer makes it impossible for me to be there some days, but while I'm struggling there are hundreds of people around me who aren't.

Could you get a device to check the air quality at home? A good quality air purifier- expensive- might help offset any exposure during the day?

Personally, in your shoes if I could send my children to school a way that would expose them to less pollution then I would.

Tube aside, London is one of the most polluted cities in the UK and you really can’t get away from the pollution if you live there.

How bizarre to choose to live in London and worry about air pollution.

Not really...

If you're really worried about the effect of air pollution on your children's health, then it seems an odd choice for me. There are many other choices.

There are loads of school children on my tube in the morning, most of them seem to be going to the Oratory or French Lycee from the looks/sounds of it! And yes, all on their own, although some seem to have local friends as they meet to travel together.

I also see some primary school children with their parents perhaps going one or two stops, so even at that age it's pretty common.

Well op hasn't explained why or how she has ended up in London, or how long they have lived there.

It's natural to show concern for health issues in your local environment, I don't know why this is surprising. She's clearly looking at ways to mitigate the impact which seems pretty sensible given they're currently living there.

They might well move away but in the meantime what's wrong with looking for the healthiest transport?

I am a Londoner so no exactly what is like to grow up and live in London. London air pollution is a political matter so again im unsure of the shock over the concern, people have a right to expect better not be told just to piss off and live elsewhere- in fact that isn't even an argument, it is just stating a fact. And yes, the poor argument i.e statement of fact is defensive!

Don't live in a city if you're scared of pollution.

It's fine for him to travel by Tube. Kids do it every day.

Know not 'no'

Again others doing something everyday is completely irrelevant!

I used to see kids on the tube all the time going to school. My own DS is that age too and could confidently navigate the Victoria and Piccadilly line. We are native Londoners, it’s something they have to get on with, we live with the tube. I didn’t go to school on it but I was certainly using it alone from age 13.

The air quality is terrible, there is asbestos (if anyone doubts me, as I expect they will, read the FOI) but you can’t get away from that fact really. Your only option is buses which come with plenty other problems.

A lot of the responses on this thread are so weird! I know lots and lots of London residents who are very concerned about pollution because of the long term impact it has on health. Surely it is a bit odd not to be concerned, if you live in London. Also, it is not that easy to just up and leave when you work in London and your children go to school there. If all 9 million of us decided to move out, it wouldn’t solve the problem, it would just cause pollution problems elsewhere.

I worry more about the traffic pollution and general air quality. I’ve stopped driving in London as that is the only thing I can think of that I can do to help.

I went to school on the tube from age 11. My own kids walk to school (albeit along very busy roads) but have been using the tube with me since they were a few weeks old. (We don't have a car.) I don't really know what you are proposing as an alternative.

If your thread title was "AIBU to expect them to do something to improve air pollution in London?" you would be getting different answers. Anyway public transport is not the problem. Cars are.

Your the adult with a heightened level of paranoia.

You've chosen to send your DS to a school that requires transport.

Is the tube particularly dirty? All the trains are electric.

Personally, unless the journey was exceptionally long, I would choose the bus, as they are free from children.

@CraftyGin nothing paranoid about it, its a widely recognised problem and public health danger in London.

The tube trains might be electric but it's ventilation that'll be the issue, in underground tunnels pollutants will be trapped much more than in the open air. Also why streets with heavy traffic are so bad, the built up nature of the city means pollutants don't escape.

I wouldn’t be worried about the pollution but more risks of assault or mugging tbh. I hate being in or around tube/overground stations at school kick out times.

Unless the alternative is to walk then yes of course he should. Unless you want to drive and expose him (and everyone else) to more pollution that way.

As others have said, if you are that worried about pollution then London isn’t perhaps the best place for you to live. Get your child to wear a good mask, tell them to wash their hands thoroughly, not to eat on the tube, not to touch surfaces unnecessarily , tell them to treat pollution risks like extreme Covid. They will reduce the risk of exposure, but might become a touch neurotic in the process.

my kids have lived in London all their lives (combined 19 years)
my siblings and I have lived in London all our lives (combined 117 years)
My parents have lived in London all their lives (combined 149 years)
My grandparents lived in London all their lives (combined 312 years)

That's a total of 597 years of living in London and travelling by tube/train/bus. Know how many times any of us have been assaulted or mugged in London? Zero.

I don't want to tempt fate but it doesn't suggest that it's particularly high-risk.

If your thread title was "AIBU to expect them to do something to improve air pollution in London?" you would be getting different answers.

this is exactly it. The London Underground isn’t going to change for anybody so you have to change your route or manage your expectations.

also “is the tube massively dirty”? I’m gonna assume you’ve not blown the soot out of your nose after a journey. For context; it’s over a hundred years of engineering, in tunnels under the ground, when asbestos was all the rage, travelled by millions of people everyday, soot dust, mice and urination of a tramp top level dirty.

Do you have an alternative? If it’s walkable then there’s no need to get the tube. If the alternative is a bus ride then your son could do that - even if it takes a bit longer, it’s less time to get underground and back above ground. However if the alternative is three buses then he doesn’t really have that option.

When riding buses, sit upstairs - it’s less polluted than at street level.