To open my window on the bus

[notknowledgeable]

It seems to be a mission for some people to fight to have all the windows on the bus closed, for all of every journey? Why? Before covid this wasn't an issue - now it seems people have a point to make.

I get there can be a chilly draught, but just put your coat on, or put your hood up?

I am immunocompromised, and wear a mask and open the window on my way to and from work. Every single time I get ill, ( currently a couple of times a month) my classes are left with non specialist agency staff. I take all the precautions I reasonably can to keep from catching anything, but this constant battle on the bus every working day is really wearing my down.

Because they are not - nothing you listed is going to put anyone out of action. Hayfever?? in January? no.

Another thing is, people open the windows directly above themselves, so they don't get to suffer from the draught, leaving it to the people behind, while they themselves enjoy fresh air

Are you saying that you get on the bus, open the window by your seat and someone comes over, leans across you and closes it?
Or are you annoyed that other people have the windows next to them closed?

YABVU. You don’t trump anyone else; it doesn’t matter where you’re going or what you’re doing.

Being a teacher doesn’t make you more important than anyone else.

I would also be one of the people leaning over to close the window.

I get Hayfever in January

I'm semi rural, very early morning bus user, it's mostly others getting to work. I've never had a problem with aggression on the bus, although I avoid school bus times because school kids are scary as hell. If someone said they were cold and wanted the window closed, I would close it though. I just think one little window at the back if I'm the only one back there is reasonable.

So your window issue only happens in January? You’re fine with windows closed the rest of the year?

You don't get to speak for a whole bus of people, and it's clear you don't understand Immunoconpromise if you think it's just about frequent colds.

I'm so glad being immunosuppressed hasn't turned my DC into a self absorbed wanker

Not necessarily... some people have raynauds and feel the cold.

Of course they're genuine, but I don't think you actually care, you just want everyone to agree with you.

Arthritis can leave people housebound.
Anaemia can cause fainting and severe fatigue.
MS can cause people to be bed-ridden for months on end during a flare-up.
Hayfever may not be an issue in January but I'm sure you don't only want the windows open in January either.

I'm immune suppressed and don't want to sit on a cold bus. I'm glad I have a car because people are so entitled

I completely agree with all of this, and I could have written your post myself OP. I too have a twice-daily bus commute, over an hour each way, am immunocompromised, and find the ‘battle of the windows’really difficult. As someone else said, some people seem to have a massive aversion to fresh air, and would rather sit enclosed in a capsule where moisture can sometimes be running down the insides of the windows, than risk coming into contact with air. I do understand people don’t want to be cold, but on my bus most people are already well wrapped up, and the heating is on. There are also a lot of agressive window slammers. I don’t mind at all if someone asks politely if I could shut the window, as I accept that it is a shared public space, but the people that just lean over you to slam them, sometimes, as you have also encountered, shouting abuse, I just find baffling. I shall think of you in solidarity as I repeat the experience tomorrow! Sadly, people just don’t seem to care about protecting vulnerable people, if it interferes with their own comfort.

Asthma? Mine is made a lot worse by the cold air, has landed me in hospital etc. all the reasons you have listed! So why does your condition trump that?

@notknowledgeable

Because they are not - nothing you listed is going to put anyone out of action. Hayfever?? in January? no

Yes. There are lots of different causes of hay fever and many causes are present all year round including January.

The Reynauds syndrome in my hands. If they get cold it’s agony. There’s only so many pairs of gloves I can get on at once.

A bus full of open windows will just blow the germs around within the space. A mask is pointless. It won't prevent anything getting to you.

I’ve been on loads of buses all around the country for 30+ years and I’ve never come across a window battle.
most people just get on the bus and sit down in my experience, windows tend to be open when it’s hot and closed when it’s cold. How long is the bus journey that it’s an issue?

I will give my car an extra special fuss in the morning!!

As it happens I drive a school child to & from home each day, we both wear masks & have the windows open, but I also have the heating on to stop us freezing, because despite wearing coats, gloves, scarves the draught is bloody cold.

Not that I catch the bus often (for reasons like this!) but I'm firmly camp window open. I like fresh air.

However, it's public transport so you have to go with the majority. I would ask the people in the seats in front and behind me if they'd mind me open the window for a few minutes, and then close it after five mins or so as a compromise.

I always ask and say just for a few minutes, no one has ever said no.

If they did, I'd suck it up or move, especially if they were there first.

You're no more entitled because of your job - and I used to be a teacher. You're not ur to want windows open, but your entitlement is very unreasonable.

For the record, I’m a fan of fresh air and frequently open (my own) windows. That’s the key wording here - my own.

Being immunosuppressed or similar is obviously difficult, and I sympathise. But you don’t know what other issues people have - you have so far dismissed asthma, hay fever and reynauds, along with the general discomfort of others who feel the cold.

Having access to private transport is not a reality or even a desire for some people, but that is your only solution. Not that it would matter as I imagine working in a school is where you will most likely pick things up, but you seem determined to pin it on the bus journey and others who don’t agree with you.

I suggest you and the 40% campaign to Parliament and get enough signatures to make bus window opening mandatory. Good luck with that!

Oof OP.

Personally, I prefer open windows but your attitude absolutely stinks.

Firstly, given that you're apparently all masked up on the bus and schools are absolute germ pits at the best of times, the chances are that you're getting ill from where you work, and not from the closed windows on the bus.

Secondly, you do know there are other jobs that are just as valuable as teachers, right? And people doing those jobs may have serious health conditions which are exacerbated by the cold - even putting them in hospital, just like you.

@catelynjane listed a whole heap of serious medical conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and arthritis which you dismissed as "not genuine". I am honestly speechless about how callous you have been.

COPD is another one to add to the list - the cold is a known trigger and yes, could put someone in hospital. Funnily enough, there are also immunocompromised individuals whose condition is made worse by the cold too.

Have a google and you'll find a very long list of medical conditions that are made worse by the cold, leaving people with extended periods of extreme pain, immobility, or hospital stays.

I have complete sympathy with wanting the windows open. I struggle with closed windows for a variety of reasons. But I'm not so selfish that I think my job, my wishes, and my health automatically trumps that of everyone around me.

I also think it's deeply ironic that you're complaining that no one cares about your health while you are displaying a shocking lack of care about the health of others, which may be equally as bad or even - gasp - worse than yours.

So you simply don’t believe the countless scientific studies which show that ventilation is the best defence against viruses? Have you come across equivalent evidence that ‘open windows just blow germs around within the space?’

This. I once watched an argument on the bus between two women, one HAD to have the window open, but she wasn't the one getting a full blast of February air in her face.

And I once half closed a window because it was pissing down and got whined at. When I said that I was getting wet and would be happy to swap seats, it was suddenly fine to leave it.

Also, on some of the older London buses, if you open a front window, the back of the bus gets a really strong draft, so if you're gonna open a window, why not sit where it's having an effect?

I don't particularly like sitting on a freezing cold bus?