What’s the most annoying person who’s encountered on public transport?

[zaraaraz]

On Friday I had a woman loudly demand a seat, the man sat at the table gave up his seat for her.

She then told the woman sitting there that she was glad as had studying to do, told her what she was studying (learning a language) and that she was so advanced she was taking her first and second year at the same time.

She then proceeded to talk into her phone loudly in the other language making voice notes on her phone.

I booked an advance ticket for a long journey, got there dutifully early - anticipating the scrum at the station (it's one of those trains they only announce with 5 mins to go & everyone sprints to get seats) - managed to get to my pre booked seat & sat down.

It was rammed - and a few moments later & an overbearing man in a pin striped suit demanded to sit in my seat, which he had apparently pre booked. I started to say there must be some mistake when he shouted at me to find my manners & get up. I was in my late teens & easily intimidated then, he was so aggressive, so I got up mortified as the whole carriage stared at me. It was also so busy that I couldn't move away from this man, now sat in what I had believed to be my seat. After an hour and a half a conductor got to us, looked at my ticket & asked why I wasn't in my seat. I explained that we appeared to have a double reservation - when the conductor checked this man's ticket he was supposed to be on an off peak service, travelling an hour later...he then had to stand up, and was charged an additional £120 for travelling on a peak train. I think that was probably the single best moment if my entire life. A table of women nearby even gave a round of applause as I sat down.

Not particularly annoying or scary, but it did make me feel uncomfortable...

I was on a train to Harwich, and a guy with a pushbike got on at Dovercourt (only one stop away) and placed his bike in the vestibule. He then sat right opposite me in a full-face motor-cycle crash helmet and high viz coat.

He kept his helmet visor down. This visor had what was obviously a hand applied reflected coating. - If you imagine scrunching up a sheet of tinfoil, and then flattening it before glueing it to a helmet, then you've got it....

He then got out of his pocket a copy of the Financial Times and proceeded to "Read" it. What blew my mind was that every single crease had been strengthened with sellotape....

The guy on a late night train who "couldn't hold it" any longer and peed in the bin.

The other guy who hopped the "staff only past this point" gate to go for a wee onto the tracks on the Piccadilly Line.

The man I caught taking pictures of my foot - he liked the small size and high arch, I had a ballet flat dangling so he got a good look.

The older man on the bus who looked furious when he had to let me into the window seat next to him. He kept looking at me with disgust. I may only have been in my 20s at the time, but I was walking with a stick & an obvious limp, had a bandaged leg and an "offer me a seat" badge!

When wearing my "offer me a seat" badge, the nice man who asked me to give up my seat for a pregnant lady. Had the grace to blush when I suggested he ask the badgeless but intimidating looking mountain of a man sat next to 5'3 me on the fold out seats instead.

The smug bastard cyclists lounging on the fold outs next to the big space for wheel chairs or push chairs. They had to be told to move to let a man who looked utterly exhausted sit down- he'd been pushing a little girl in a wheel chair, and for some reason it wasn't very high/had low handles he had to bend down to. In a heatwave. He looked too done in to ask, so someone else did.

The man who sat next to me in a four seater with a stinky egg mcmuffin. There were other seats available- with table trays. He got the hint from the specialty witherings he got from me and from my equally revolted friend.

The guy who squished up next to me in another four seater in an almost empty carriage. When I asked why he had to sit next to me, he explained he got travel sick with his back to the direction of travel. When I asked if he'd let me move round because I felt a bit claustrophobic sat like that in an otherwise empty carriage, he got offended and moved... to one of the many other empty forward facing sets of two seats. I didn't mind him sat diagonal and would've moved myself if he wanted the table but I didn't want a new friend.

The stupid, wittering woman who started getting on my regular commute train. She'd talk loudly to someone sat in a different set of seats- masks in hands during covid, the pair of them. I always sit near a particular set of doors to make it easy to change trains - it's the best spot for my exchange station etc- so ended up in her orbit, even with SD in effect. Wouldn't leave me alone, complaining I was always on my phone- yes, to avoid you, you inane bitch! Said it was my time to catch up on emails/do the online shop etc and she STILL kept going. Three journeys of that and I changed carriage to avoid her!

One time a young couple got on the train. A very busy rush hour train, always fills up.

There were lots of spare seats but not two together. The couple were extremely polite and asked one chap (suited city type) would he mind moving seats so they could sit together. No! He said

I made a big show of standing up and offering my seat to the couple and plonking down next to him instead. Arse

I was once on a fairly empty train sitting at a table of four.

The train stopped and loads of people got on, filling up the carriage.

A family of three got on and occupied the other seats on my table. Fair enough so far.

The mother asked me to move seats so they could have the table to themselves.

I did move, but afterwards thought this was pretty entitled behaviour. I had to move carriages to find another seat.

Oh yes. One more gross one. More bad parenting than anything.

I was on another train on a table with a Mum and toddler aged about 3.

Mum was of the “glamorous” type and was more interested in her phone and her make-up than her child.

Toddler asks to go to the toilet. Mum obviously can’t be bothered and tells child to just go in her Pull-Up!

My kids had wee issues when younger but I would have NEVER told them to use a nappy when they asked for the loo!

Anyway this backfires when the toddler did as she was told, though what became clear to the entire carriage was that it wasn’t just a wee she needed.

Mum then had to cart her off to the loo to change her after all, which would have been more of an effort than just taking her in the first place!

@WoolieLiberal

I was once on a fairly empty train sitting at a table of four.

The train stopped and loads of people got on, filling up the carriage.

A family of three got on and occupied the other seats on my table. Fair enough so far.

The mother asked me to move seats so they could have the table to themselves.

I did move, but afterwards thought this was pretty entitled behaviour. I had to move carriages to find another seat.

I had an argument with a friend over a scenario like this. She always comments that it's selfish for a single person to sit at a table seat on a train. However I don't think so as it's not like a restaurant where you expect to have the table to yourself. I would expect people to sit with me at a train table as it fills up. Unless booked every seat for himself IMO.

I agree, and if it had been a family of four I would have volunteered to move so they could all sit together.

I’ve moved from single seats before now so that people travelling together could sit together but would never dream of asking someone else to give up their seat for me (I completely agree that this is a reasonable thing to do if you have a disability or other need, however!)

A man who let his three year old watch peppa pig on the iPad without headphones and at full volume for most of an hour long train journey.

People who do their personal grooming.

There was this woman once who tried to comb her hair, and the comb made some scraping noises.

Another time someone was clipping their fingernails. Disgusting.

Hungover young suited man who sat next to 16yo me on a crowded bus one morning and fell asleep on my shoulder! I was mortified and he was indignant when I shook him awake.

I work on the trains and we used to have a phantom crapper. He would literally poo on a train seat and smear it all over the walls etc.

We'd find it and the train would have to come out of service and be taken to the depot to be deep cleaned and have the seat cushions replaced.

It was a homeless man which is sad. But I felt for the poor cleaners having to deal with it

@Crimeismymiddlename, I had post viral chronic fatigue. For my mental health and as part of my recovery on good days I went out of the house. Part of my recovery plan was going a bit further each fortnight. All of that would mean that I'd often go only one bus stop. There's a whole range of conditions that mean small breaks and/or sitting down are needed.

I was getting the bus from Liverpool to Knowsley and an obnoxious, load mouth druggie type had decided to steal a E Scooter. He phoning people asking if they could bypass the tracker etc. He then phoned his gf and argued with her. She wanted a maccies. He then phoned lots of people telling them and declaring that he'd 'cheek it'. The bus driver, who shouldn't have let him on with the scooter but couldn't tell him to get off with it because then he'd be in trouble, had to threaten him to shut up.

Another time a bus driver quite rightly let a young teenage girl on the bus. She'd left her day ticket in her friends bag. For the rest of the journey a man in his 50's ranted about this. Not load enough for the bus driver to pick up on, but load enough to annoy all of us. Me and another woman said if he hadn't have let her on, we'd have paid anyway because she was vulnerable. The rule on this changed after a 13 year old was raped in Liverpool after losing her fare and walking home. He was having none of it.

There's loads of examples of people who rant because they just don't get why disabled people need the front seats, to stay seated until the bus has stopped etc or as in @Crimeismymiddlename, why people need to go one stop.

3 hour train journey-some bloke got on and started to play his guitar
Badly
He seemed to think he was the next big thing with his amazing voice

Got on one train with a wedding party,of about 25 people-the mother sat with a cats arse face,twittering on about ‘the wedding’,the very camp bloke was so loud and they all just got more and more pissed and louder and louder

I changed trains-had just settled down when they got on and carried on,only they seemed to have picked up a woman who brayed like a donkey the whole journey

I burst into tears when I finally got off

Return flight. Female passenger insistent I was sat in her seat, was not having it that it was my seat. Thoroughly obnoxious about it.
Then realised when she checked her ticket that it was indeed my seat and she was seated elsewhere. No word of apology, just ambled over to her seat, sat down. All in a days work I imagine.

People who paint their nails, put on deodorant or tons of fucking perfume. Keep your smells to yourself.

I used to commute and a man used to get on the early train, and open every single window in the carriage and sit there in just a shirt in the middle of winter. Then everyone else would get on and close windows and try and warm carriage up from freezing and he would mutter and moan. He would reopen windows when people got off and other people would just close them. Every day.

A girl was once so interested in her phone conversation she sat on me, in an empty carriage window seat. Just glared at me, sat next to me and carried on her boring conversation. So I moved and then she complained to her friend I moved. Weirdo.

Probably too many to mention, but highlights include sitting on a seat and finding that someone had just wiped bogies all over it, a rowdy man spoiling for a fight who then stood in front of the bus so it couldn't move. People discussing their sex lives on the phone. Being sat next to on an empty bus, and the pensioner on a packed rush hour bus who refused to let anyone sit on the empty front seats as they were for pensioners only - no other pensioners in sight.

Had a person walk up and down the bus recently looking for a paper - I know that, because he was loudly commenting on his lack of luck in finding one alongside commenting on random shite doing on outside (the driver had stepped outside for a moment, this had to be discussed with himself at volume). Annoying and a bit intimidating.

Generally: People who loudly and repeatedly whinge for ages about heat/smell when trains get stuck in the summer. Like yeah, it's miserable, you're only making it worse. Worst one literally started to spray some aerosol thing (not sure if deodorant or just scented spray) at people, including over the back of her seat without looking and onto my then toddler.

Also, hen dos, stag dos, and footie fans loudly chanting crude shite especially when there are kids around.

@WoolieLiberal

I was once on a fairly empty train sitting at a table of four.

The train stopped and loads of people got on, filling up the carriage.

A family of three got on and occupied the other seats on my table. Fair enough so far.

The mother asked me to move seats so they could have the table to themselves.

I did move, but afterwards thought this was pretty entitled behaviour. I had to move carriages to find another seat.

What a cheek

The train I used to commute on was also used by high school pupils on their way to/from school. They chatted a lot but were really sensible and polite. An older woman regularly used the same train and would tut loudly whenever she saw one of them get on and look to the other adults for approval. If anyone got on with a baby in a buggy she would order them to use a different carriage as 'no one wants to listen to your bloody screaming brat' (even if the baby was fast asleep and silent).

One my way home once a woman with a child aged around 5 or 6 got on and sat in the 2 seats available, opposite me. The carriage was one where rows of seats face eachother but there is no table inbetween. The woman was clearly a bit drunk. She chatted loudly to a friend on the phone (ignoring the child) then quite abruptly vomited on my feet. She didn't apologise, just took out a tissue and wiped her mouth and said she was pregnant and it was morning sickness.

In the run up to Xmas once, a man on the train had clearly been at an office party and was quite drunk. He started walking up and down the train then the train jolted and he projectile vomited what smelled/looked like cider and blackcurrant over a group of women and their shopping bags. Other passengers offered them babywipes/spare carrier bags for their shopping but they all had to sit for the rest of the journey in clothes covered in someone else's vomit.

I have met a lot of weirdos everywhere (DH says I have a friendly face) but the worst offenders on public transport are:
*Man who was pissed and asked to me wake him at a particular stop and put his head on my shoulder to sleep (I was about 17 and didn't move!)
*Woman who ask what hand cream I was putting on and then asked for some
*Man who took my earphone out and said I was rude as he wanted to chat

And number 1 spot goes to the man masturbating while looking at me, on the opposite seat on the train. I was 16 and terrified

I had an argument with a friend over a scenario like this. She always comments that it's selfish for a single person to sit at a table seat on a train. However I don't think so as it's not like a restaurant where you expect to have the table to yourself. I would expect people to sit with me at a train table as it fills up. Unless booked every seat for himself IMO

but it wasn't a family of 4, it was a family of 3, so there was space for the pp. The mother was being entitled and wanted the table to themselves. That isn't acceptable. I would have told them to bog off as I was there first (although I probably wouldn't have wanted to share with potentially screamy kids anyway so might have moved of my own volition).

If you were a family of 4, and someone was hogging a table for 4, then I would ask them very nicely if they would mind moving to allow us to sit together. But if there are only 3 of you, you'll have to lump sharing.

I didn't say anything about it being a family of 4? I'm in agreement with the PP?

Men who rub their cock on your shoulder or upper arm in a rammed train when you sitting and they are standing in the idle.

Now I tell them to fuck off when I was younger not as likely I just sat there up comfortable and trying to edge away.