To have a phone conversation on the bus?

[LauderSyme]

I travelled to work by bus today and thought I'd use the time to call my grandmother on my mobile. I work full time and am a single parent so finding the time to chat on the phone can be tricky. We talked for 20 mins or so, mainly about my dc. As I was getting off, an elderly couple confronted me quite nastily to tell me how rude I was and how disgusting it was of me to "force the whole top deck to listen to my conversation" and that I should "think twice before getting that thing out". I know other people's public conversations can be really annoying but I didn't raise my voice or swear or speak inappropriately. I think they were the rude ones! WIBU or were they?

If you're on public transport . . . crowded place, you end up separated from your companions because you can't get seated next to each other. So, one person is at one end of the vehicle (assuming bus) or carriage (train) and the other person is at the other end. Most sensible people wouldn't proceed to yell to each other across the tops of the heads of their fellow passengers, as they would know it would be incredibly annoying. They would wait until the end of the journey to be reunited and continue the conversation then. Or when the crowd thins out, and they can sit next to each other, and chat in normal speaking voices. When no-one else has to be inconvenienced.

Same thing with a mobile phone.

Evans you really have no regular experience of commuting by public transport do you? "All everyday sounds are marvelous"

Ad Ledkr says better someone talking about everyday mundane subjects on the phone than the usual "everyday sounds" of an early morning commute where everyone is grimly silent except the inevitable sniffer, sniff, sniff, sniff... Pause... Sniff... Sniff... Sniff.. Then a really big wet sniff they hope will keep it all in... Pause... Sneeze... Sniff, sniff... Pause... Sniff... Stuck in traffic... Sniff, sniff...

Punctuated only by someone else farting and another person tapping unconsciously with their foot, and one of those infuriating nervous throat clearers...

Sniff, sniff, sniff...

Maybe someone humming tunelessly under their breath very quietly...

Sniff, sniff, sniff...

That is why people who commute daily often plug into ear phones to drown out annoying everyday background noise.

Sniff, sniff, sniff, fart, burp ... On the way home maybe someone else is snoring...

Sniff, sniff...

Someone on the phone is far, far less grating for 20 minutes than 20 minutes of sniffing.

5moreminutes Evans - you really have no regular experience of commuting by public transport do you? "All everyday sounds are marvellous

That's a pretty sweeping statement, if accusations of sweeping statements are being bandied around! Actually I do have plenty of public transport usage experience - I used public transport for years and years and years, both in this country and others. Nowadays I use it as sparingly as possible as a find driving more convenient, various reasons for that. I have DC, who use public transport, so am quite well up with modern ways, thanks

I can only speak for myself but I very much enjoy listening in to other people's phone conversations.

People can't help having a cold or cough. So sniffing and coughing doesn't bother me unduly (as long as the germs are caught in a tissue), as the person is not doing it on purpose, so as to annoy fellow passengers. One time I caught the train into London, crowded train, young woman sitting next to me spent the entire journey (30 mins) texting. That's fine, you would think, but she had long nails and clicky buttons on her phone (Blackberry . . . . . yes it was a couple of years ago). All I could hear was clickety clickety click click click click clickety click. Silence for two seconds, reply pings, then clickety clickety click again. And on and on and on FOR A SOLID HALF AN HOUR. I cannot tell you what I wanted to do with that phone

Evans I assumed you didn't have experience of having to use public transport daily for a long period, especially to commute, specifically because you wrote "all everyday sounds are marvelous" which is so terribly unconvincing - of course all everyday sounds are not "marvelous". Finding other people constantly sniffing, farting, jiggling, tapping, snoring, hiccuping, heavy breathing, humming or muttering under their breath, slurping saliva or drinks, eating loudly with open mouth and burping "marvelous" is certainly a niche taste!

Nobody needs to sniff non stop for a whole bus journey - if they blew their noses properly they wouldn't need to sniff even if they have a cold. The sniffers rarely have tissues, and if they do they don't use them to alleviate the sniffing by blowing their noses, so they are just as inconsiderate as those who dare to talk on a phone.

I'm really surprised people think constant sniffing is fine - if it weren't for headphones to block it out I'd have had to find a different way to get to work or end up living rent free at her Majesty's pleasure after snapping and murdering a Monday morning bus sniffer - but I don't feel particularly annoyed by people who use their voice to talk to their grandmother...

5more - Finding other people constantly sniffing, farting, jiggling, tapping, snoring, hiccuping, heavy breathing, humming or muttering under their breath, slurping saliva or drinks, eating loudly with open mouth and burping "marvelous" is certainly a niche taste

Crikey - I'd hate to travel on your chosen method of transport and your journey. I used public transport daily, for many years, and a very long time before mobile phones were even invented, and never experienced the torture you have had to endure. My sympathies

YANBU. auburn

People chatting on a phone on the bus is a pain in the arse. They are ALWAYS much louder than they think they are. It's rude.

Userblahblah5714 auburn - What does this mean, please? Yet another translation required.

Wow do people really get worked up over these things?
It's no different then sitting with someone and talking. As long as you're not shouting then that's fine

This is a pet hate of mine.... I don't need to listen to peoples' phone calls. I also hate people watching stuff on their phones in these spaces without headphones.

You are not being unreasonable. You have done nothing wrong. Is everyone supposed to remain silent on public transport?

If people don't like it they should buy a car then they can listen to whatever they like.... until then you carry on. And bless you for calling your grandmother I bet that was one of the high lights of her day xxxxxxx

5 minutes is ok. 20 mins is too long to have to listen to.

What about 6 minutes? Is that ok?

So posting that something is annoying is "worked up". Nonsense.

Is everyone supposed to remain silent on public transport
I think that aspect of the conversation has already been done to death, if you would care to read the thread.
Answer being NO - no-one is meant to remain silent. That idea would be just silly, to the extreme. Be respectful of your fellow travellers, is all that is asked. It's worked for many, many years before now.