Leading article: Going underground

London's transport system has been voted "best in the world" by a poll of international tourists. Before full-time residents of our great capital fall about laughing, they might consider that the rest of the world has a point.

Given the antiquity of large parts of the London Underground, is it not amazing that the system works as well as it does?

And London's impressive rate of economic growth shows that transport is hardly in a state of total breakdown.

But, yes, it is still faintly baffling that it won this accolade. What about the magnificence of the Moscow underground? The ubiquity (although perhaps not intelligibility) of New York's cab drivers? The efficiency and cleanliness of the Tokyo train system?

How did London, with its striking Tube drivers, ramshackle trains and rib-crushing crowds defeat all of the above?

There is a clue in the priorities of those who took part in the survey. Almost half cited the quality they look for most in a public transport system as being that it goes everywhere they need to go, rating this well above other considerations such as frequency.

For busy, native Londoners, speed is what matters. Tourists are unlikely to be in a hurry - and are also less prone to anger if the bus or train they are waiting for fails to arrive exactly on time. They are also less likely to travel during the rush hour.

Yet it does us good to compare the way we see ourselves with how others see us from time to time. Although we would warn anyone planning to visit London on the strength of this survey: mind the gap!