I tried out every Londoner’s worst nightmare and spoke to other commuters

Chatty cabins – the solution to loneliness in London? (Picture: John Nguyen/JNVisuals)

Trapped in a cable car with strangers.

Nope, this isn’t a new horror film. But that is what came to my mind when I heard about the TfL’s chatty cabin initiative in North Greenwich.

Running for the second time, the chatty cabins initiative on the IFS Cloud Cable Car allows people to talk to each other while taking in the unobstructed view of London.

It’s been set up to help tackle loneliness in London, which, according to the campaign to end loneliness, which estimates 8% of Londoners experience severe loneliness.

Interested in the real-life psychological experiment, I wanted to try every Londoner’s worst nightmare – eye contact and conversation in public transport – while dangling 295ft over the River Thames with nowhere to escape.

There would be nowhere to escape once I stepped inside the chatty cabin (Picture: John Nguyen/JNVisuals)

But I discovered that curiosity is not dead – and Londoners are a warm bunch when one person dares to break the ice.

While the Tube air hangs heavy with stressed commuters trying to avoid eye contact, the cable car I jumped into with five other passengers invited conversation.

Facing each other on the ski lift-style cabin, conversation began to flow as we took in the sights and introduced ourselves.

Any shred of anxiety was gone as the cable car whizzed on, making the journey ahead with strangers feel more like an opportunity to be present rather than a torture chamber (although the mostly see-through cabin was very warm).

I felt an instant connection with the people in my chatty cabin (Picture: John Nguyen/JNVisuals)

With only a 20-minute ride ahead of us, it was clear we all wanted to make it count and use the rare opportunity where talking to strangers is not considered too nosy.

William Bolding was the first to admit that ‘I’m afraid of heights’ as he clutched the handrail and braced for the journey ahead. As the wind picked up, he asked whether it was normal for the cable car to swing so much.

He had booked a slot on the chatty cabin – which sold out last time the initiative ran – to challenge his fear, he admitted.

The 20-minute chatty cabin ride left me wanting to speak to strangers on the Tube (Picture: John Nguyen/JNVisuals)

Jackie Hufford had ridden the cable car with her children years ago when it launched for the 2012 London Olympics, and she wanted to relive the memory after reading about the chatty cabins in Metro.

‘I love talking to new people and travelling,’ the south east Londoner said.

Caroline McLeary joked that ‘everyone thinks we know each other already, but Jackie and I have just met,’ and the pair, both from the Lewisham area, shared numbers at the end of the ride.

Caroline said she wanted to come try the chatty cabin to ‘do something for myself’ although she had to catch two buses to get there.

‘Everyone experiences loneliness,’ she said.

Naturally, the conversation turned to travel as the City Airport loomed in the background.

Caroline McLeary said she is always helping others and people turn to her for advice, but she wanted to do something for herself (Picture: John Nguyen/JNVisuals) Jackie Hufford had overcome some health troubles and she was looking forward to a solo trip abroad where she can talk to strangers, which she loves (Picture: John Nguyen/JNVisuals)

While we couldn’t agree on which London airport is the handiest to get to, one thing we agreed on was how expensive travel in the capital is.

Despite the heavy and personal theme of loneliness, which brought us for the ride in the first place, my face hurt from smiling by the time we touched back down on the Greenwich Peninsula terminal.

I could have easily gone for a pint with our chatty cabin gang.

Despite the sold-out success of the first chatty cabin, there are no plans to bring it on the Tube.

Josh Crompton, head of IFS Cloud Cable Car for TfL. said that most chatty cabin tickets have sold out (Picture: John Nguyen/JNVisuals)

‘It would be difficult on the Tube,’ Josh Crompton, the head of IFS Cloud Cable Car for TfL, said.

‘The Cable Car is different because it’s a closed environment. But we certainly encourage people to have conversations.’

Josh said the range of people who have tried the chatty cabins includes people ‘who struggle with bereavement to tourists coming to London on their own and wanting to engage with people, single parents who are in with their children all day and are looking to get out.’

‘I’m one of those people who struggles opening conversations as much as people do, and that’s why we create that environment. It’s quite refreshing to have a conversation with people, and I don’t generally do that, and I find it quite hard, and this was easy and quite refreshing,’ he said.

The chatty cabins initiative runs this week until Friday and aims to help tackle loneliness in London as part of the Loneliness Awareness Week.

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