In message , at 18:20:45 on Fri, 11
Jan 2013, tim..... remarked:

147. A 2011 study suggested 30 per cent of passengers take longer routes
due to the out-of-scale distances on the Tube map.

I'm very skeptical of that claim.

It may be true for the isolated case Paddington to Bond Street via
Baker Street/Notting Hill Gate: "Although the second route is
considerably slower (by about 15 per cent), some 30 per cent of
travellers chose it, Professor Guo found."

I don't see that he can conclude that it's got anything to do with the
journey "looking" shorted.

That's what academics do - they study things and come to conclusions.

In the case of catching a train from Padd it could easily be because
access to the circle line platforms is simpler.

Erm, both routes he was comparing were from the Circle platforms.

Here's another one:

What's the optimum route from Waterloo to King's Cross?

Well known to be via Oxford Circus. Because of the cross-platform
change.

The shortest route on the ground (whichever way that is)

Did you read the article *at all*? Hint: it includes a geographic map as
well.

ps The shortest route on the ground is probably via Leicester Square
(second shortest via Warren St) in both cases the Beck map quite closely
resembling the geographic one.
--
Roland Perry