People travelling by bus share the Commuter Culture that I wrote the other day, but there are also things on a bus you can see differently from an underground journey.
One explanation that could be behind all: that a bus moves way more slowly than a train, so people mostly take it to travel a short distance (in London, a few miles is definitely short) or to take their time.
1. More Lively Activities
Train commuters look calm most of the time, but bus takers are rather different.
They may be travelling on bus to enjoy a leisure time off work, to hang out with friends, to have time for family, or go shopping. Therefore they are more at ease talking or arranging the groceries.
On a bus, you have a high chance to witness how a family take care of each other, how talkative a Londoner can actually be, and how many languages are spoken in daily life.
2. More Demographic Indications
My friend once told me this story: She took a bus to enjoy a long journey from school to home. When she was around South Kensington, a famous area of wealth, everybody on the bus was white and looked rich. After taking a nap for a while, she woke up near Aldgate East to find out that all passengers were now black.
London has a too long history of diversity for racism to remain, but it’s a fact that people of the same ethnicity and culture still tend to live together in certain locals. So travelling by bus might be a cool way to know where is home to each community.
Kaleidoscope Eyed 
I like it when you talk about bus which has become an icon for London. I live quite far from school so I often take tube. However, when I have time, I’d rather take bus. Sitting on the upper deck and watching people rushing by, beautiful building flashing by, you might feel the enjoyment of a real life movie: vivid and vibrant with sounds, images and feeling. Just grasp yourself some cripsy inviting cheese popcorn and it would make a little self-indulgence corner for everyone. However, advice might not be applicable for some bus lines in peak hour. All you could feel is the shoulders of people in front of you !
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Double-decker buses are not so uncommon for mass transport in many cities around the world, but the red London bus is always chosen as an iconic example. To me (and I trust that it’s also true to many), the best way to see London is from the top of a bus. ( : with only £1.50 a ride, you have various choices of sightseeing bus routes, taking in the majority of the city’s most famous sights. It’d be so cool!
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