In today's busy world, there are many things we could all do to make each other's lives more pleasant. Sadly, these things are often not being done. Through her witty and informative
public courtesy rules, blogger Tracey is attempting to redress this problem. There is one aspect of life where a little courtesy for one's fellow citizens goes a long way: when travelling on the bus.
Have your ticket and/or money ready when the bus arrives. Don't sit reading or chatting at the bus stop, then hold everyone up by fumbling through your wallet whilst buying a ticket.
If the bus driver waits for you because you are late, then walk or run towards the bus as fast as you can, and a "thank you" is in order when you board.
I can't believe I have to say this - but school children, give up your seats on the bus for adults, especially the elderly. They are paying. You are not. What do you need to sit down for anyway? You're not tired yet.
Unless the bus is empty or near-empty, your bag doesn't need a seat. Put it on the floor so someone can sit next to you.
(I'll try to be delicate here) If you are male, keep your legs as close together as possible. I'm sorry, but unless you have a severe case of the mumps, your manhood is not two feet wide, and doesn't require you to have your legs sprawled that far apart.
Keep it quiet. There is no need to shout when talking to someone next to you. When talking on a mobile phone, if the reception is so bad you need to shout, call the person you're speaking to back later. And the bus is not the place to try out all your ring tones.
The bus is also not the place to: floss your teeth; file your nails; spray yourself with hairspray and/or deodorant; or do anything, except breathing, involving the interior of your nose. (I have seen people do all these things on the bus).
Keep your feet on the floor, not on the seats. Someone else has to sit there, sooner or later.
When the bus reaches your stop, exit as quickly as possible. We all understand that more infirm passengers take a little longer to get off the bus, but holding everyone up whilst you spend several minutes saying goodbye to other passengers is making people frustrated, and late. Also, exit by the back door, so that intending passengers can board straight away without waiting for people to alight.
By following these common-sense rules, I'm sure we can all enjoy a faster and more pleasant journey.
I've got one to add. The bus is not the place to show off the fact that you have a lap top. They take up room and are usually very useful objects. But don't be turning it on just to show everyone you have a laptop because if someone does notice you then it's a good chance they'll notice that you appear to just be running your cursor around the desktop and not actually doing anything except trying to get people to notice that you have a laptop and think that your work must be very important.
ReplyDeleteGreat list I'm sure Tracey will be proud and will agree on all points!
Yes, that's a good one. I've seen this more on trains - people powering up their laptops to...play solitaire!
ReplyDeleteoh dear, i imagine seeing someone flossing their teeth on the bus would make one feel quite repulsed!
ReplyDeletethanks, I'm going to save this post and refer to it when I feel the need to have people review...commuter etiquette...
ReplyDeleteI am a constant sufferer of bus rage. I hope your suggestions at least convince just a few more people to 'do the right thing'...they are such common sense ideas and very practically focussed that really they should come to people naturally. But as we both know this is just not the case for a whole lot of bus travellers.
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