Londoner: 'Yes, I'm afraid'
2005-07-22 14:54
London - London commuters showed signs of jitters on Friday, a day after apparent would-be suicide bombings on the capital's transit system suggested that the deadly July 7 attacks were not an isolated incident.
Whereas commuters were largely defiant after the first attacks that killed 56 people, they betrayed traces of nervousness after Thursday's failed attacks on three Underground subway trains and a double-decker bus.
"Yes, I'm afraid. I always take the tube (subway) to go to work but now I feel more confident with the bus," said Ehelena Osaki, 24, told AFP in the City financial district.
"The bus also is worrying me a bit but you've got to get to work, no? I'm too young to die."
Commuters faced disruption on the sections of London's transport network, with two Underground lines closed and three running a restricted service. Several stations on other lines were also shut down.
'Fear for my children'
Up on street level, buses were running a full service, but diversions were in place near two of the four sites of Thursday's incidents.
David Roberts, 29, who rode a bicycle to work, said that two incidents in as many weeks were "putting fears into people's minds".
"I wouldn't go in the Underground with my two children. I would fear too much for their safety."
Matthew Kube, 26, who lives in southwest London, said he was using overground suburban trains for most of his journey to work, rather than his usual Underground line.
"I'm a little bit upset," he said at Blackfriars station.
"It's the first day I feel a bit worried and I chose to take the overground train despite the tube from Wimbledon. I may avoid the tube as much as possible, but I'm not sure yet."
Luna Martello, 28, said she still rides double-decker buses, but avoids the back of the upper deck because that is where one of the July 7 bombs, at Tavistock Square in Bloomsbury, centrally London, went off.
"I tend to stand by the driver in the front of the bus, even when there are vacant seats," she said.
- AFP