Harry G wrote:

I'm a Londoner and have no problem using buses here - but if I'm in a
strange city I'll take the metro or a tram by preference. Something
psychlogical to do with the fact that metro or tram services can't
deviate from their tracks and (usually!) come back exactly the same way
they went, point (b) in Dave's post.

Guess you've never been to New York!

Just yesterday we had:

Southbound 1 trains operated express from 137th Street to 96th Street
and again express from 34th Street to 14th Street, where they terminated
(running back north from the southbound express track). But 2 and 3
trains, which normally run express between 96th Street and Chambers
Street, ran local instead. Shuttle buses ran between Chambers Street
and South Ferry on the 1.

The 5 ran local in both directions in Manhattan, terminating at Brooklyn
Bridge instead of Bowling Green.

No C service at all. Instead, the A ran local. Except northbound from
Canal Street to 59th Street, where both the A and E ran express.
(Except that E train stopped at 50th Street itself.)

The southbound F train ran via the A line between West 4th Street and
Jay Street.

There was no G service south of Bedford-Nassau Avenues. Instead, there
was shuttle bus service to Jay Street.

There was no 6 service north of Parkchester. Instead, there was shuttle
bus service to Pelham Bay Park.

L trains ran in two segments, split at Broadway Junction. Also, the
brand new PA/CIS system on the L (essentially equivalent to the
next-train indicators that you've had for, oh, a century or so) was
undergoing testing, with sometimes humorous results.
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA