The subte in Buenos Aires, late at night.

From London to Buenos Aires: getting home late at night always causes problems.

Whenever I talk about London, porteños often tell me they’re envious of our underground system. Usually because of the length and breadth of the service, which stretches across and beyond the city’s nominal borders, on some lines deep into suburbia.

The ‘tube’ runs from very early in the morning to around 12.30am (depending on which line you’re using). If you live further afield, you may have some late-running overground options from the major terminals.

In London, nightlife has two timetables. Timetable one: you’re out in the pubs and bars until midnight, downing your last pint before a frantic dash to the station to catch the last train. Nothing’s more satisfying than jumping on the carriage, just as the doors shut behind you.

Timetable two: you’re out for a late one — maybe to a club or to a concert. If that’s the case, the tube is no longer a viable option, it shuts too early. There’s only the last resort: the dreaded night-bus. (Taxis are far too expensive for a Londoner…)

As soon as you step on, the noise, the sights and the smells hit you. The drunks, the singing, the takeaways, the sleeping… it’s a place you want to avoid if at all possible.

The porteños may be jealous of our underground system, but I’m envious of their affordable radio taxis and regular, cheap buses that run throughout the night.

In London, we may have a more expansive tube network but we too want the same thing: an underground that runs later.

Originally published in the Buenos Aires Herald, on Monday, June 2, 2014
Link: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/161004/we-hear-you.
© J. GRAINGER, 2014