Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Public Transit Etiquette

Majority of people around the world use public transit (if available, of course). The city of my origin Minsk, Belarus, has an excellent transit system, which does not compare to those in North America... Hands down! Everytime I come back from Belarus I feel cheated in Ottawa, where the charge definitely outweighs the service I receive.

Majority of people using public transit in Ottawa have no clue about how to behave to make the ride pleasant for every passenger. Here are some of the "rules":

- You only paid for one seat, so use one! Don't flop your bag next to you like you're entitled to something (and some only move it after being prompted, sometimes more than once!).

- People - MOVE TO THE BACK!!! If you prepare for your stop in advance, other people will let you off the bus. C'mon already! Just this morning 3 people were let standing in the cold because the bus driver thought the bus was full. Well, the back was empty! And that's just irritating since all of us have places to go.

- Respect priority seating - that applies more to the younger generation that continue to sit there with their iPods in their ears pretending to be "sleeping". Give that old lady/gentleman your seat!

These are some main points that all of us public transit users could improve on. Maybe then we would feel that our transit system is actually worth the $100 we pay every month...

No comments:

Post a Comment