Workers in London warily return to the city's transportation system following Thursday's terrorist bombings. The normally packed double-decker buses carried far fewer passengers than normal — as was the case with subway trains. London commuters leave Bank underground station in central London, July 8, 2005.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host: Time now for business news.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: London commuters warily returned to the city's transportation system      following yesterday's terrorist bombings.  The normally packed      double-decker buses carried far fewer passengers than normal, as was the      case with subway trains. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports from London.</s>JIM ZARROLI reporting: Almost as soon as the bombs went off yesterday, police shut down the      city's underground rail system, and buses were barred from the West End      and the financial district, leaving workers with no easy way to get out      of the city. The express train from Heathrow Airport to Paddington      station stopped running. Andy Trotter of the British Transport Police      urged people early on to think about alternative ways of getting home.</s>Mr. ANDY TROTTER (British Transport Police): Obviously, we don't want a      great rush out of central London, but it's going to be a very difficult      evening to get people away.  But I know that everyone will be working      together to try and get people home as best we can.</s>ZARROLI: That wasn't easy.  With public transportation virtually shut      down, taxis were at a premium, but even if you could get one, some roads      were closed.  A lot of people responded by simply walking home.</s>ZARROLI: Malcolm Rakstraw(ph), who manages a pharmacy near Piccadilly      Circus, sent his employees home early in the afternoon.  Then he began      looking for his wife, who works in a store in a railroad station.</s>Mr. MALCOLM RAKSTRAW (Pharmacy Manager): Obviously, the phones were so      red hot, you couldn't get through, so all the mobile networks were down,      so we couldn't communicate, and that was probably the worst thing.  It      took me at least four or five hours before I could confirm my wife was      OK, because she'd been evacuated, working in the station.</s>ZARROLI: After he found her, Rakstraw walked home to south London, a      journey that took two hours.  Much of the rest of the city closed down,      too.  While the financial markets stayed open, London's theaters went      dark en masse, something that hasn't happened since the death of the      princess of Wales.  By this morning, the subway was running again, though      the King's Cross station remained closed.  The buses were running as      well, and many companies set up shuttles and car services to get people      to work.  Commuters were urged not to drive into the city, but some, like      Steve Miles, decided not to risk it.</s>Mr. STEVE MILES (Commuter): I decided to get a lift this morning.  I'm a      bit reluctant to get the train and even the bus after what happened.      That way (unintelligible) the West End every day.</s>ZARROLI: A lot of other people stayed home.  David Presswell(ph) was      unloading frozen food from a truck in front of a hotel on Regent Street.      He said there was some traffic on the roads leading into the city, but      the center of London was a different story.</s>Mr. DAVID PRESSWELL (London): Eerie, very eerie, very lonely and sort of      no one about at the moment.  I was driving up here and there's no one      walking on the streets, but I've only just got into London, but that's      going through the other parts.</s>ZARROLI: With the news of the bombings reverberating throughout the      world, some people worried that tourists would be scared away.  Kevin      Sapone(ph), a taxi driver of 16 years, says he thinks there may be a      drop-off for a few weeks, especially among American tourists.  He says      after 9/11, US visitors probably react more fearfully to attacks like      this.  Sapone says Londoners who had to contend for so long with IRA      bombings have learned to take it in stride.</s>Mr. KEVIN SAPONE (Taxi Driver): Can't let these people keep you indoors,      stop you doing the things that you do naturally.  Otherwise, they're the      winners at the end of the day and, you know--and I figure as Londoners,      we've seen this, so we just carry on working, get on with your life.</s>ZARROLI: Throughout the city, a lot of people echoed that sentiment.      With summer getting into full swing, there was a kind of determination to      press on. Officials said ceremonies to commemorate the 60th anniversary      of the end of World War II would go on as planned this weekend.  But for      a while at least, city officials warn that security measures would      probably be a lot tighter. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, London.