Should someone who's been waiting longer than you at the bus stop always get on first?

[Letthebodieshitthefloor]

The bus I take is essentially a coach, always plenty of seats even at busy hours.

This morning I approached the bus stop, a woman was already there, and I saw her glaring at me because I was standing in the bus stop rather than at the side.

She then let another woman on first who'd perhaps been there longer than she had, then got herself in front of me and looked at me making sure I wouldn't get on before she did.

It's all a bit petty really, the bus was almost empty, it's not going to go without you.

If there were a pregnant/vulnerable/elderly passenger getting on and I could see there weren't many seats left then I'd let them on first.

pregnant/vulnerable/elderly passenger getting on and I could see there weren't many seats left then I'd let them on first

Are you saying you fall into any of those groups, or they were at the bus stop? If the answer is no, you don't actually know if glaring woman applies the system as you. Why are you assuming she doesn't?!

@Letthebodieshitthefloor

A savage.. 😂 If you arrive later and there are many people there it's hard to know who got there first etc. Unless you form an orderly queue based on arrival time

The people who got there before you WILL know the order of who arrived when. They know you arrived after them! So it's etiquette to let the people who were already there decide the order if you know you were last, regardless of how much space is on the bus.

YABU @Letthebodieshitthefloor It's effectively a queue, or at least in terms of manners.

So of course the people who've been there the longest should get on first.

PS, yes there probably is space for everyone. But not the choice of where to sit.

It's common courtesy to let people who have been waiting longer to get on the bus first!

@Letthebodieshitthefloor

A savage.. 😂 If you arrive later and there are many people there it's hard to know who got there first etc. Unless you form an orderly queue based on arrival time

Any one else here old enough to remember that’s exactly what we used to do?

The thing about many London bus stops is that they have multiple buses but also a screen that tells you the time of the next bus you want and they are remarkably accurate. So at my local bus stop there are 5 possible buses you could get and you can see when your one is coming so you just note who is ahead of you and see if they start to move when their bus comes or just ask them. I say are you waiting for the 7? No. Ok then. Very simple system

Yes this annoys me. Not enough that I would glare or anything, but it does irk me a bit. I view it in the same light as being at the bar and someone jumps ahead of you (knowing full well they have), or when people are late and keep you waiting when you arrange a time to meet up. It's like saying their time and need to be first, regardless of when you got there is more valuable than anyone else around them. Entitled centre of the universe behaviour. Not a good look

Are you not from UK? In UK back of the queue no pushing in.

I thought queuing was our national pastime - we’re famous for it! Of course people should get on the bus in the order they arrive at the stop.

In london too - i often let everyone get onto a local bus first as I am trying to do the "get bus to town, do shopping and then BACK on the bus within 1 hour" challenge - as then the return trip is free :D

FourTeaFallOut --- I love it "what are you, a savage" I will be using that one in a jokey way. Thanks for making me smile.

Always concede to those who arrive before me but it is NOT standard in the Coventry area. Most bus patrons seem to have exceedingly pointy elbows/ shovy tendencies and I'm glad to be back on my bike or in my car now I am off crutches and out of that.

Ultimo is a great system as you only need to remember the one who is in front of you.

(and it's funnier when your friend is a savage cos it's their name)

@Letthebodieshitthefloor

A savage.. 😂 If you arrive later and there are many people there it's hard to know who got there first etc. Unless you form an orderly queue based on arrival time

But the other people in the queue will know who was there when they arrived, and since they were all there before you you know where you were in the line.

Laughing at savage!

Where are all these londoners queueing at a bus stop? Zone eleventy hundred? In actual London it's the person who's in front of the door that is first, it's a lottery. The rude thing is when you lose the lottery and knock over the person who won, a la Kanye West. The other rude thing is not letting people off before you get on.

@FourTeaFallOut

Of course the people who get there first go on the bus first. What are you, a savage?

😂😆👍🏼

Of course you let people who were there first on the bus before you!

Also the bus doesn't teleport to the stop, you have plenty of time to see it approaching and slowing down, and the doors take time to open. If the bus is about to stop in front of me and I know someone was there before me, you take a step back and gesture to them. It doesn't delay things. It takes time for each passenger to get on and this allows people to get on in the correct order.

If there's masses of people at the stop when you get there you are probably gonna be last. Just hang back

Personally I normally hang back anyway because I am young, able and therefore lowest priority for seats and I don't like sitting in the window with someone in the aisle. I'd rather stand so prefer everyone to get on

You're being a cf! I used to hate standing in the cold, waiting for the bus & some cf would breeze past me & get on the bus first! I'm freezing - I want on first! Do you push in whilst queuing at the supermarket or petrol station?? 😆

@GreenFridays

Hahaha, definitely not in my rough part of SE London 😂

Hehe yep, definitely depends where. In leafy NW London, always. When I used to work in SE London, the concept of a queue was lost! My big handbag usually helped me to silently enforce “err, I was here first so I’m getting on first”!

We definitely had 'queue etiquette' at the bus stand in Vauxhall! 😉

I get so annoyed at this. I regularly visit a large shopping centre and when coming back there are usually quite a few people waiting for the bus. Now I'm always willing to step aside for an elderly/disabled person/mum with kiddies and let them on first but I find a lot of them just expect it which I don't like, and in my experience women are much less courteous than men, especially elderly women who seem to think they're entitled - though obviously they are not all like that. I've had women literally position themselves in front to get on first. I'm pretty polite but that irritates me and it looks ignorant . Men on the other hand tend to stand aside and let you on first regardless of who has been waiting longer.

It's the same getting off; people just jump up and step into the aisle without looking to see if anyone is already there , it's the driving equivalent of cutting someone up.

There's also the etiquette of holding doors for people, or standing aside in the supermarket to let someone with a trolley past and they can see you're waiting for them but they don't acknowledge or attempt to hurry up a bit. I'm afraid I have lost patience an odd time and if there was no acknowledgement, said 'you're welcome' just loud enough for them to hear; a bit PA I know but again, says more about them than me. I just wish people would have more manners, doesn't cost anything

You always know who was there before you

I'm sorry but no I don't, not when there's a big crowd of people there, more keep turning up and most of them look the same (the bus crowd in Bristol is not very diverse!).

The other rude thing is not letting people off before you get on

Omg yes! I always stand to the side when the bus arrives and then look to the bus driver and down the bus if I can to see if it’s ok to get on especially if it’s a double decker bus. The amount of people who get there before me who stand right in front of the door is ridiculous and when I’m first there are the ones who are behind me trying to urge me forward expecting me to just get on when there are people still getting off. We’re not going to get anywhere faster if people are blocking the only way lace to get on and off.

Has anyone mentioned queueing in Thailand? Say, in the post office you can leave your flipflops as a marker then take a seat elsewhere. Which is sort of at odds with no shoe wearing indoors but still. Loved to see it.

Yes.