Vancity Buzz Guide to Simple Bus and Train Etiquette

School is back, the buses and trains are packed, the winter weather is slowly creeping up on us and that can only lead to grumpy, wet and dreadful commutes to and from work, school or where ever your $110 2 zone bus pass will take you. Luckily Vancity Buzz has come up with a simple list with a few tips on how to make yours and everyone else’s trips a little more enjoyable.

Yes the bus can get crowded and yes some people have a real problem with hygiene but no that doesn’t mean you deserve to take up 3 seats for you, your backpack and your newspapers. As dire as it may be that you need to read about how many times Angelina Jolie has cheated on Brad Pitt in your “news” paper when the bus starts getting packed maybe pick up those Business and World News sections you never read so that person can also sit down, even if it means their hip might touch yours. So put your backpack on your lap or between your legs and let other people sit beside you so they can Tweet, Facebook and read Vancity Buzz on their phones!

I don’t care how much you drank last night, how far you walked home on your walk of shame or how sore your feet are from wearing 9 inch heels. When someone three times your age gets on the bus, MOVE out of the seats at the front so they don’t need to waddle all the way to the back which sometimes can take up to 5 minutes or struggle standing at the front when at any moment their hip could give out for the 10th time this year.

I understand it sucks waiting for a train but when the Skytrain literally comes once every couple of minutes there is NO need to dash at full speed when you see one at the platform. Some people might be VERY tired on their way to work and may not see you and your psychotic eyes glazed over in a mad stampede because you can’t be at your destination 2 minutes later. Don’t be surprised if the next time you’re bolting for that train someone sticks their leg out and then not only will you be 2 minutes late you’ll also have a broken nose and wrist. Think about this, you could be in Edmonton where if you miss a train, the next one isn’t for 10 minutes…20 on weekends.

I know you think you’re cool for all the chicks numbers you got at the Roxy last night or how many beers you drank and how important the meeting is that you’re on the way to…news flash NO ONE ELSE CARES. Go ahead and talk on your phone or to your friends but the rest of the bus/train doesn’t need to hear about it, actually we really don’t care but when you’re talking at a ridiculous volume so we can’t even think about what to make for dinner later, then well hopefully that chick from the Roxy you met last night was actually a dude.

This should be fairly obvious to most but when taking an escalator, regardless of going up or down its WALK LEFT, STAND RIGHT. Not “Stand where ever the hell you please so you hold up everyone behind you who doesn’t want to wait 5 minutes to get down to the trains”. I’m fine if you’re too lazy to walk down moving stairs which do all the work for you, but please please please stand on the RIGHT HAND SIDE. Some of us enjoy using our legs to walk.

First, get your mind out of the gutter…done? Ok, so this is probably the most irritating and #1 problem with people who take transit, especially the Skytrain (though it happens on the bus too) when the doors open and people are shoving their way through to get on when not everyone has had the chance to get off. I’ll never understand why some people can’t grasp the concept of moving 2 steps to the side so people can easily walk out but rather insist on squeezing themselves through just so maybe they can get a seat or maybe somehow the door will close even though 5 people are in the doorway and they might not get on? It makes no sense and I personally have seen where it almost comes down to blows because someone couldn’t wait until everyone got off before getting on. Fair enough those “blows” would’ve been between two 5’2 78 year old Chinese women, but likely one of them knows Karate and things would’ve got a little out of control. To avoid possible future 3 Ninja’s style brawls we can all take a breath, take a step to the side and allow people to get off the train before we get on.

The last and most crucial advice I can give for all the fellow commuters out there is SMILE! We’re all in this together and maybe just maybe if we all smiled a bit more often we may just brighten up another’s day.