I was passing through Euston station in London the other day, as you do, and a lady stopped me to ask for directions. She wanted to know where to get a taxi to King’s Cross station.
I helped her. I must have the air of someone who knows how to get around as I am often asked for directions.
That bit of Euston Road has three main railway stations, Euston, St Pancras and King’s Cross. the latter two are literally next door to each other and could be a single station but for a busy and dangerous main road between them.
From Euston to there is maybe five minutes walking, perhaps a little longer. It’s actually signposted at the station. You see people doing it all the time.
I undertsand there are many reasons why someone may choose to take a taxi for such a short distance: they don’t know it’s so close, they have mobility issues, heavy bags, naughty children in tow, in a hurry or maybe they just can’t be bothered/someone else is paying so why not? Add your own reasons.
The traffic on the main road is slow. Taxi may not be the fastest, depending on queues for cabs and congestion.
Bus is also an option. If you are just passing through, you may not know what bus to get (91, 390, 73 and so on), you perhaps won’t have an Oyster card but could use contactless, may need a receipt and many of the issues above could still apply.
Finding the taxi rank at Euston is not easy. The whole general area is a building site. Just getting into a taxi costs you nearly £5, plus mileage and time, so it’s an expensive option for a short journey.
I told the lady that it was walking distance, just so she knew and could consider it, but pointed to where the rank was, over the bus station, and how to cross the roads safely, which she did.
If you are visiting somewhere, even just passing through, taking a few minutes beforehand to study the geography may really help. We’ve written before about knowing where places are and organising yourself to make the best use of your time. It’s not just for London, but any place you may care to visit. Having an idea of scale really helps. Knowing whether places are north, south, east or whatever is good. There are plenty of free apps to help.
I’m not saying the lady in question didn’t know at all, and I was happy to help, but it still made me think.