I visited for the second time last week, and loved it. I also really like the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden. Both Stockholm and London have well-functioning city transport that is still fascinating to me as a South African. In South Africa, the situation in big cities is more like that of Los Angeles. There is some city transport, but the system is built more for motorists.
In the beginning, horses were vital for public transport in Stockholm. Nowadays though, horses are a pastime and almost never used to work.
There were also many people working within public transport that are not necessary anymore – conductors, tailors (to make all the uniforms), people to work with the horses and their tack, switchboard operators, ticket-takers, typing pools, printing works for the timetables and tickets. I saw a photograph of a 13-year old conductor.
Below is a driver and assistant working in winter.
These straw shoes were worn over regular shoes in the winter.
This display showed how people did not travel far before public transport. They generally lived and worked in a very small area. Years would pass between their visits to a place that takes me less than two minutes by underground. There were no bridges between Stockholm’s 14 islands.
This was a bus that took people to the boats that trafficked the Stockholm archipelago. At that time the archipelago had many more people living permanently than now.
I was struck at all the tiny handmade models in the houses. Nowadays everything would be made by 3-D printer I guess.
They sold pigeons – of all things – in the museum shop.
It was rather startling to spot a rhino in the museum, but Stockholm’s underground is a 110km long art gallery so there was much art by these artists featured. Of the 100 underground stations, more than 90 of them feature art.
You can ‘drive’ many of the trains and buses. I loved this destination!
How the ticket system has evolved over the years. Nowadays no cash is used. You can use your Visa card or have a ticket on your phone. I use a plastic monthly card which costs me $100 for unlimited travel on boats, buses, trains, trams, underground, commuter train and light rail.
