A moany chat for those who commute daily in busy cities.

[NCsoS]

This is lighthearted, hence not an AIBU as I am fully aware nobody is doing anything wrong and we all have a different pace in life. But this is a moany thread for those who do the same journey day in day out and to vent all those little things that in your rush hour stressed morning / afternoon really piss in your cornflakes.

I have a list 😂

I do the same journey twice a day - it’s autopilot at this point, everything is calculated on my route, even to the ticket barrier I use and the exact spot I stand in on the tube platform.

So here it goes:

• the obvious not keeping left
• getting off the escalator and immediately stopping just by the steps to tie your shoe laces / adjust your bag
• people walking in pairs or groups through stations joined at the hip - just let other people pass
• People with massive luggage on the escalators
• people stopping in the middle of a busy walkway as you’re walking at full pace behind them

I’m sure I have many more I’ll remember as we go along. Share yours!

I don’t live/work in a busy city but let me tell you people are just as annoying.
Major gripes include:
Bikes on pavements. The pavements are narrow with lots of hidden bends. Get your bloody bike off the pavement! 😡😡😡😡. Groups walking several abreast. Just stop it! I am not moving for you. Teenagers on their phone oblivious to oncoming pedestrians. Bikes using pedestrian areas. If you have to ride an electric bike or scooter, either stick to the designated areas, or get off your bike and push it whilst in the traffic free areas.
It’s got so bad that several police cars were in the designated pedestrian are yesterday specifically watching for those ignorant fuckers riding vehicles in the pedestrian areas.

It will always be the people who are walking down the pavement while staring at their phone. The number of times a day I have to dodge around people to prevent walking head first into yet another zombie doing this is infuriating. And they almost never apologise.

Another is groups of people walking (3, 4, 5 etc) abreast. Making me walk off the pavement as they seem to be unable to NOT take up the whole width of the pavement. It's so entitled and does my head in. I've started not moving for them and just hitting shoulders with one of them if it comes to that.

I think I need to move. This thread is making my tinnitus flare up!

Don't be at all embarrassed at asking someone to move their bag on a seat - I have to do it all the time and just point and say "excuse me" politely, and I've never had someone refuse! Or even be that grumpy about it, usually.

I actually developed a matrix in my mind to classify annoying travelers.
Top left: High impact, low forgiveness (pickpockets, aggressive drunks)
Bottom left: Low impact, low forgiveness (bags on seats, playing music, randomly stopping)
Bottom right: Low impact, high forgiveness (people with prams, crying kids, people who are frail and struggling)
Top right: High impact, high forgiveness (people who fart in a crowded tube)

The Thameslink between 8 and 9am every morning. You wouldn't keep animals that close together.

on a packed bus yesterday (London) a woman who had parked her buggy in the wheelchair / buggy space, then took a seat for herself and one for her toddler who was watching tv on tablet loudly. All this carried on whilst more and more people including elderly and disabled adults who needed a seats crowded on and gathered near the door blocking the exit.

People following Google maps on their phones, zig zagging or randomly stopping....in front of me.

There are a couple of little independent horse-box ones around Salford/Manchester, they’re usually quite good 🫣

The last bullet point is annoying for sure. There are a lot of tourists in big cities so we need to cut them some slack as they won’t all be aware of etiquette such as keeping left on the escalator.

Spreading elbows do they can play phone games. On tube. Stretch legs out or crossing legs do taking up space. Crowding at tube entrance at bottom of stairs causing block onto platform.

People carrying hot drinks.

I commute by bus or bike.
People who don't move all the way down the bus.
We also have the no-headphones crew.
I'm in the North though and people are generally more polite! They do crowd to get on at the terminus but don't push.
Pedestrians who walk on the (clearly marked) bike side of the pathway.
Fast cyclists overtaking on corners.
People who have no control over their dog.
People who move their dog off the (clearly marked) bike side and expect a medal.

This - it appears alien to those people that others might want/need to work on the train on the way home. It's like they transplanted their office desk to the train with a third of the space.

Teams/Zoom meetings on the train. I don't really want to hear about this quarter's sales, Susan and what you need to do to increase them for next quarter.

I sometimes do leave my bag on the seat. Hear me out. When I get a late train home (8pm onwards) they are pretty empty, so there are probably about 30 seats available. I will sit on a 2-seater and put my bag next to me as a signal 'no thanks'. Invariably a man will come along and ask to sit down and then manspread into my space for the hour+ home.

I would also add people who smoke outside the station. It's gross to walk through, then they get on the train and the smell that is embedded in their clothing is disgusting.

@Monsterslam a bag on a seat on an empty train is completely fine, I often do that if I'm commuting very early or very late. You just need to have enough awareness of your surroundings that when those 30 seats free dwindle to 5 seats that you need to move your bag before someone has to ask you.

There's someone on my train who does this every bloody morning - we all start at the beginning of the line where the carriage is nearly empty so but 4 stops in it's a busy interchange and loads of people crowd on. EVERY time she puts her bag on the seat at the start, but doesn't move it and invariably someone asks her to move her bag to sit down. She makes a big faffy production of it, moving her coffee, flipping up her table, huffing and puffing. It's got to the point when I see her at the start of the line that I have to sit in a different carriage as it drives me potty.

But you remind me of another pet peeve - people who sit next to you in a 2 seater when there are loads of other 2 seaters where both seats are free. No! Fill up all 2 seaters with one person FIRST before you are allowed to sit next to someone. It should be a universal rule, like electrons going into atomic orbitals.

People who stand at the bottom of the escalators, it is SO dangerous, there is a yellow hatched area for a reason you idiots

People who get on trains with full sized bikes and make no efforts to actually put them in the appropriate space.

People who try to barge their way on before letting people off

My joy at the weather improving soon dampers as I realise we are getting closer and closer to the days of huge groups of European teenagers in their brightly coloured tshirts getting in the way 🥲

At least once a week, my normal ~ 10 carriage train is replaced by a ~5 carriage train. Peak evening rush hour.

It’s absolute carnage as people cram on to it, shouting for people to move down, pleading they will miss nursery collections etc. Usually there’s some elderly person wobbling around having ended up there by accident, and someone kicking off about anyone brushing up against them despite it being shoulder-to-shoulder.

Often the shouting continues post-departure. On arrival at the first station even more people might try to cram on, cue more shouting and fury.

This every week, it’s so boring.

Oh and when I was pregnant I definitely observed that on the train people furiously avoided eye contact to avoid giving you a seat, whereas on the tube usually someone stood up.

My theory is the potential longer journey on the train means people aren’t willing to sacrifice eg 30-40mins of having to stand up when they’ve managed to get a seat - whereas on the tube most people will be making short journeys so it’s an easier ‘sacrifice’ for them to make.

I got very direct towards the end of my last pregnancy, people would have happily let me struggle on.

I'm also on the Piccadilly line! Weren't we meant to be getting nice new air conditioned trains? What happened to that?

Thankfully I WFH now and when I see everyone rushing to the tube, I feel so relieved. Must admit, I often fly from Heathrow too so am sometimes guilty of having big cases, although I do try and be considerate! But it's so convenient just having that one tube journey home.

Backpacks always annoyed me the most. Especially at rush hour when we were squeezed on as it was. Also yes to the people just standing there and not moving. Also the people who wait until they're actually at the barrier before getting their phone/card out.

No idea on the swanky new trains but I’ve noticed A LOT of maintenance works (this weekend the whole line is closed THANKS now I need to get on the northern line which is the literal trenches) so I am assuming they’re preparing for it?

I think we’re getting the new trains later this year.

Yes to almost all of this! Dithering / faffing in doorways or at top of bottom of stairs / escalators should be a hanging offence if you ask me. Ditto people who don't use headphones - HOW the actual fuck can you be so oblivious? Some people do live in their own little bubbles

'There are a lot of tourists in big cities so we need to cut them some slack as they won’t all be aware of etiquette such as keeping left on the escalator.'

This is a v good point. I've been the overwhelmed and confused tourist myself many times, and I do try to cut them loads of slack. Obviously, tolerance levels go waaaay down in rush hour 🙄

I most WFH these days, and not having to deal with rush hour travel is number 27,456 on my list of things to be grateful for

There are a lot of tourists in big cities so we need to cut them some slack as they won’t all be aware of etiquette such as keeping left on the escalator.'

As long as they move straight over when asked, that’s fine.

I do stop & ask people if they need help when they look lost.

There are also those who stop to look at the tube direction map right by the entrance to the platform! That drives me up the wall! Stand away!