Thursday, November 29, 2007

Public Transport Moans

I’m limiting myself to three for today.

Move Down Inside the Carriage
This announcement is frequently heard on rush hour tubes and in the main, the passengers obey. But without this reminder on other forms of transport, left to their own device, the public will cluster around the entrance way. I’ve witnessed several buses go past stops of people because the lower deck by the driver is full but the whole upstairs is empty. And its not just old folk who can’t manage the stairs either. Then this morning, people were left on the platform because they couldn’t’ get on the train but the aisles and even a few seats were empty, but the entrance way was blocked. Which brings me onto my next moan…

Two tickets please - one for me and one for my bag
Its rush hour, people are standing in the aisles if they’ve even managed to get on the train at all, but there are always people who are taking up a seat with their belongings. And the worst offenders are white upper middle class women who tut, glare and generally put up quite some resistance to letting fellow passengers sit down. On the tube or bus with bulky luggage, it is possibly understandable, but on a train with an overhead luggage rack, is there any real excuse? Unless of course, they are buying a separate ticket for their bag, in which case it is entitled to a seat.

A Good Service is Operating
My tube journey on a certain route to work should take 30 minutes, so how come for the last two weeks, every time I’ve gone that way, it has taken 50 minutes. And still they claim this is a good service. The times when they admit that they are problems on the line, is when it takes 90 minutes. But apparently they are meeting their targets of reliability. Perhaps I’m just very unlucky and manage to pick the two tubes running with problems each day and the other hundred or so run exactly on time?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aha, seems commuter etiquette across the pond is no better than here in NYC. I ride the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) to Penn Station and then take a subway uptown to work. Between the eating, drinking, and personal fetishes that commuters indulge themselves in, the daily commute is an assault to all the senses. Then, when I think I can't take anymore, I swipe my MetroCard and enter the dungeon realm under NYC.

People stand in the doorways here also...my personal pet peeve are the Moms with their oversized strollers , or should I say "prams", blocking the doorways with their offspring during rush hour.

Oh, and my personal favorite, when delays in mass transit occur and the announcement comes over the intercom..."We are sorry for the delay, we don't know what is wrong or how long the delay will be be, but thank you for your patience and understanding". UGH!

SandDancer said...

When I was in New York, I thought the subway was great - much preferable to our tube. But I suppose it is the novelty factor of using it as a tourist, off-peak too rather than being faced with it on a daily basis.

Our announcements are similar - it is hard to be understanding about something when no reason has been given.

Anonymous said...

how very restrained of you limiting yourself to 3...

As you know I share your pain...I'm not liking the current trend for brutally honest announcements. Last week I heard apologies for severe delays due to staff shortages, train shortages and the totally random "congestion at Moorgate"...total honesty like that doesn't really wash when the train is over 20 minutes and it's p*ssing down...

How's your aunty doing?

SandDancer said...

NM - On Friday the tube didn't stop at Bond Street because of overcrowding there which isn't really going to help the problem.

No real change with my auntie unfortunately - apparently things may improve over time but no way of knowing, we just have to wait. Thank you for asking.