I asked people why they’re sad about the tube strike being cancelled

We may be scattered, we may be few, but together we are stronger than a motionless train, we are the unspoken masses who love Tube strikes. In spite of today’s strike being cancelled, here are some feel-good quotes to get you pumped for the next one:

Mim, Durham, inert

“I can’t drive, so it gives me a great excuse to get out of something I don’t want to go to.”

Jonny, Journalist, wrathful

“Because (and it hurts as someone born and raised in London) the tube is shite. It’s uncomfortable, unreliable, and doesn’t actually take you where you want to go. Tube strikes open people up to the infinite matrix of opportunity that is the London bus – stopping nearer to you, taking you more places, without fucking psychos elbowing you, no passive aggression. Long live the tube strikes, allowing bus people to feel smug.”

Baz, ‘university of life’, moronic

“Some people say that striking is bad for the economy, well you know what I say, it’s good for trainspotters, because all the trains stay in the depot so they don’t need to go gallivanting about the place to fill in their adorable little notebooks. Stop being so selfish by wanting the trains to move all the time anyway. Moving is hard work and everybody needs a break some time, even mechanised modes of transport.”

Sheila, my Grandma, natural wit

“I love tube strikes because I once got my irritating little brother to do what I wanted by hitting him on the head with a tube of toothpaste.”

Emily, UCL, palpable

“Tube strikes are great because I don’t have to stand in someone’s armpit for 45 minutes and can breathe fresh air instead.”

Ben, UCL, conflicted

“It’s like a socialist uprising isn’t it, which tickles my inner marxist. So on the one hand I’m rooting for the disenfranchised masses, but on the other hand it does mean that, if I stay out too late, I’ll have to live in a bin.”

Jonathan, Sussex, relatable

“I like how we start talking to strangers, even if it is only complaining about the strike.”

Marvin, Oxford, paranoid

“I whole-heartedly support Tube Strikes because it will engender further frustration among the public with the rapacious 70s throwback that is the RMT and accelerate the replacement of tube drivers with computers that demand only electricity as wages. I, for one, welcome our new robotic drivers.”

Alex, UCL, indebted

“Maybe train strikes delay debt collectors giving the country’s indebted a day when they can live without fearing the doorbell.”

Laura, UCL student and Co-Owner of UCL Mindfulness Society, mindful

“I like that the tube strike is happening because it will make everyone more mindful about how they’re getting to work.”

Louis, Cambridge, eagle-visioned

“You don’t have that awkward moment where you make eye contact with the person sitting opposite you.”

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Millie, Leeds, acrobatic

“I’m really into parkour and sometimes I just need that little extra push to get out on the urban jungle.”

Joe, Manchester, northern

“As a Northerner, its nice to see the only valid argument for southern superiority destroyed.”

Colin, Geography Teacher, patronising

“How’s this for a dumb idea: the last time there were strikes, some Londoners had to spend up to 8 hours walking home. The health benefits were enormous and represented a welcome change from the couch potato culture of sitting which our rail network only encourages.”

Linda, my Mum, wonderful

“[another armpit-based point] You haven’t got to stick to someone’s armpit, so you can avoid halitosis”

Danny, Nottingham, perverted

“I enjoy people wearing suits riding micro-scooters.”

Ben, a bus, accumulative

“I enjoy the collective body warmth of the 200 other people packed shoulder-to-shoulder on the bus with me for an hour.”

Tal, KCL, doubtful

“It’s a valid excuse not to go to my Monday morning 9am?”

Dan, Birmingham School of Acting, delinquent

“When the Tube strikes, more people walk through parks, which gives me the opportunity to stab them.”

Jacinta, Oregon State, vindictive

“The thought of the British scrambling in the rain as they attempt to feed their pathetic families brings me joy.”

Rob, Leeds, candid

“With any luck it will quell the influx of people from Essex into London. I hate them all, indiscriminately.”

Robbie, UCL, insatiable

“A tube strike on TFL doesn’t necessarily mean a tube strike in the bedroom if you know what I mean.”