And there's more to travel than speed. Getting to work on time is important, but plenty of commuters are happy spending five minutes more on a train in order to get a seat or avoid changing lines. That could be one reason why a
Wi-Fi based study of passenger routes on the Tube was so surprising, with commuters sometimes opting for convoluted routes with multiple, unnecessary changes or spending longer travelling than necessary. But if you stop assuming speed is our main factor, other passengers' routes only look bonkers because we don't know their motivation – perhaps they'll do anything to avoid Bank station at rush hour, prefer to avoid stairs, or know a colleague takes a certain train and want to avoid small talk.
