As I complained a little about bus drivers in my last post, today my comments are reserved for bus passengers. After many years of bus travel it continues to surprise me how little common sense or common courtesy so many passengers have.
Here are some rules of bus etiquette that would make bus travel a lot more pleasant for all of us:
1. If the bus is busy, do not sit in the aisle seat next to an empty seat or put your bag on the window seat and refuse to acknowledge the questioning glances of other passengers. This is just selfish and rude. (This applies to train travel too.)
2. If you are sitting in the fold up seats in the wheelchair / buggy space and someone with a wheelchair / buggy gets on, move. This requires no further explanation.
3. If an elderly or physically infirm person gets on and you are sitting at the front of the bus, move to a different seat further back. If there are no seats, stand. Their need is greater than yours.
4. Smile at the bus driver. Even if they are later rude to you (see post below), you should not start this bad bus behaviour. They might then take it out on the passenger after you. You might even say thank you as you get off the bus. Drivers are people. Not automatons.
5. If there are empty seats, sit in them. Do not stand at the front of the bus and make it impossible for those with more common sense than you to get to, or indeed see, the empty seats. If you have to stand when you get on, be prepared to move further back on the bus as it fills up. Do not cause a blockage at the front which makes it impossible for other passengers to get off at their stop. As seats become available, fill them up. Yes, this means you have to move, but it does also clear the aisle so that other passengers can get on or off.
Common sense and common courtesy. Some of the passengers I have travelled with should try harder in both.
1 comment:
I couldn't agree more! I have far too many of my own examples to offer them all but I do remember a couple of moments that made my face turn red with rage! I was sitting near the front of the bus when a carer got on with a disabled person - the bus was very busy so I got up to offer said disabled person a seat and some rude (able bodied) person took it before I got to offer it out - I gave a lengthy very hard stare to the person who took the seat that was not offered to them.
I also watched in horror as a bus filled up and a man sitting in the nearest seat at the front of the bus refused to get up for the heavily pregnant woman who was trying to squeeze and waddle her way up the narrow aisle - I gave her my seat.
Finally - I most agree with our last point. Why on earth do people stand clogging the bus when there are plenty of perfectly good seats which people can't get to because there are these idiots standing at the front, making it impossible to get past. And guess what - you invariably get an angered stare if you dare to knock their bag as you attempt to squeeze past them!
Manners are free! So are smiles!
Post a Comment