You may not be able to mimic the Queen of England off the top of your head, but you no doubt could do a spot-on impersonation of Londoner Emma Clarke. For the past 8 years, her voice has reminded Tube riders to “mind the gap”—until last week, when Transport for London sacked her for posting mock subway announcements on her personal website. After we finished chuckling at the spoofs (which tease everyone from American tourists to sudoku fanatics) and the à propos wording of the transport company’s statement (“further contracts for Miss Clarke are experiencing severe delays”), we got to talking about the world’s best subway features. And there’s no better website for delving into this underground topic—or planning your city-vacation transportation—than Metro Bits, which features practical and fun facts about 165 subway systems, along with features like “Arts and Architecture” and “Metros to Beaches.” But the best part is its video library, where you can watch all kinds of trains whisk into and out of stations—and hear Emma Clarke’s gap admonition one last time.
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