Luas seating etiquette?

starling

Okay, let me just say i'm not out to start anything with this, but i'm genuinely interested to know...

Here's the situation, you get on the luas and there are no seats. Then someone goes to get off, but they are sitting on the inside seat - by the window. The person in the aisle seat usually doesn't bother getting up, if you're lucky they just sort of swivel their legs over a bit; some people don't move at all, so the person getting off has to actually climb over them.
Now if someone else comes along and wants to take the vacant seat, the person doesn't just shift over towards the window, they stay where they are and the new person has to climb over them again to get to the window seat.

Assuming my little description made sense, am i the only one who thinks this is a bit nonsensical? I'm not trying to rant or start any arguments, i'm genuinely interested to know what the other side of this is. I mean, is there something that the hypothetical passenger who doesn't move is thinking, that hasn't occurred to me? (Other than "i can't be bothered moving" ) Like, is it because the seats on the Luas are actually seperate seats rather than the old bus seats that were one rectangular cushion?
I keep seeing people falling over because the luas starts while they are still trying to climb over someone to get to a seat. What do ye think?

Alun

I just stare them in the face until they make eye contact and say "Excuse me please?". Works on the DART or the bus too.

mathie

The person doesn't move because in all likelyhood they're going to get off before the person that just got on and thus avoid having to get into an awkward move situation
M

Earthhorse

I'd usually stay in a seat like that because I'm comfortable in it already and anyone is free to take the window seat if they want. Or, as someone mentioned already, I'll stay where I am if I'm getting off shortly.

You might feel inconvenienced having to say "Excuse me please" to get past this person to the window seat but you shouldn't.

homeOwner

I dont move over but I do move my legs to let other people in. The way I look at it is my seat isnt vacant. Anyone is welcome to take the free seat but not the seat I am sitting in. I am usually half asleep on the luas and dart to be honest so even if you glared at me it wouldnt register.

What I do have a problem with is people (but in general it is women) that dont say thank you when I have given up my seat for them on public transport. It has happened 3 times in the past 6 months. Most recently one woman got on the airport shuttle bus with 3 small kids a pram and a husband and it looked like they were having some sort of argument. She was clearly struggling trying to hold one by the hand, she was carrying the baby and trying to keep the older kid from falling over. Meanwhile the husband was busying himself trying to close the pram unsuccessfully and in fairness was doing nothing to help her. So I did the decent thing and stood up and said "would you like to sit down?". To my amazement she replied "Well, yes actually I would" and that was it. No thank you. No smile. Nothing. And the tone she used was as if she was giving out to me. She barely even looked at me. I was gobsmacked. I ended up standing for about 20 mins in the heat and was really mad I had bothered to get up.

I saw someone else offer a seat to an woman in her 50s on the luas recently, laiden down with bags and she barely acknowledged him. She gave him a half nod and sat down. Not a thank you or anything. I was standing right beside her and I wanted to yell at her to have some manners. The poor chap ended up standing for the rest of the trip.

Ohhhhhhh it makes me mad.

People out there - if someone gets up and gives you their seat say THANK YOU and mean it!:mad:

starling

Hey thanks for the responses.
Mathie, Earth, i get your point, but wouldn't standing up to let the person get to the seat be more reasonable? I mean that way you can still sit in the aisle if you want to get off soon, and if everyone did this, it wouldn't matter where you were when you wanted off - cause the person out the outside would (hopefully) stand up to let you get out...
I reckon next time this happens to me i'll try the "Excuse me" route, i don't actually care whether i sit aisle or window, as long as i don't have to climb over someone.

homeOwner

starling wrote:

i don't actually care whether i sit aisle or window, as long as i don't have to climb over someone.

So you want the other person to inconvience themselves and move over so that you dont have to be inconvienced by stepping over them. Hmmmmm.

Earthhorse

I'll happily swivel or stand up to let someone pass. But I won't stand up if they haven't indicated they're going for the seat as it looks like you're giving up your own.

I used to regularly stand out in the aisle of the bus to let people out but I haven't found it nearly as necessary on the roomy Luas!

Alun

homeOwner wrote:

So you want the other person to inconvience themselves and move over so that you dont have to be inconvienced by stepping over them. Hmmmmm.

Actually, I often prefer to shuffle over to the window seat and let them take the aisle seat. It's really no more effort than doing the 'swivel', and has the advantage that it limits the possibility that I'll have my feet stomped on while they struggle to squeeze into position.

starling

homeOwner wrote:

So you want the other person to inconvience themselves and move over so that you dont have to be inconvienced by stepping over them. Hmmmmm.

You seem to be assuming that someone has to be inconvenienced and it's either you or them? They don't have to move, they could stand up, then i wouldn't have to climb and they could still get off the tram when they want to.

Edit: It's not the inconvenience so much as the physical unpleasantness of having to rub against a total stranger just so i can sit down. If i'm carrying bags or whatever i can't hold on to anything and climb at the same time unless i want to end up falling.

Plus, of course, there's the added element of being a girl when not all blokes are as decent as Alun up there. I've been felt up (well let's call a spade a spade, assaulted) on public transport a few times, so maybe i'm being over cautious, but i swear some of them are getting a kick out of making me touch them just so i can sit down.

homeOwner

starling wrote:

Edit: It's not the inconvenience so much as the physical unpleasantness of having to rub against a total stranger just so i can sit down. If i'm carrying bags or whatever i can't hold on to anything and climb at the same time unless i want to end up falling.

Plus, of course, there's the added element of being a girl when not all blokes are as decent as Alun up there. I've been felt up (well let's call a spade a spade, assaulted) on public transport a few times, so maybe i'm being over cautious, but i swear some of them are getting a kick out of making me touch them just so i can sit down.

Your experience has been unfortunate and I hope not common. No one should have to put up with that but to be fair I dont think it is totally down to the fact that you have to "climb" over people but that you have met rather unpleasant people on public transport. I was talking about the luas and dart and there is plenty of room on both for someone to get past with a leg swivel without any touching being involved. The bus is another story altogether. However if you are carrying bags and cant balance yourself really is it someone else's fault if you fall over? Maybe the other person is day dreaming and in automatic mode and is not aware of the situation and you lean over on them and then think its their fault for not moving out of your way.

If you experience being groped on public transport (i am guessing this is subvert and not overt groping) then I think you should embarass the person involved by saying out in a loud voice "would you mind not touching me as I try to get past you since you hadnt the manners to move over and let me through"....or some such thing.

I hope you dont encounter it again.

cyclopath2001

homeOwner wrote:

Your experience has been unfortunate and I hope not common.

Etiquette in Dublin? You're kidding right? Next thing, you'll be asking for people to only use only one staircase in Dart stations, to stand on the right on escalators or to let people off before trying to get on.

Come on, now get real. This is Dublin, not London.

enterprise

If i'm on the outside seat I will quite happily move across to the window seat. TBH honest it annoys the hell out of me when you stand staring at the ejit and then have to clamber across them!

DéiseGirl

LOL I was going to start a thread on this very subject once upon a time. I even had the title in my head "Tramiquette" but then I couldn't be bothered as I stopped using the tram so much

enterprise

Ah come back! Its fun really!

DéiseGirl

enterprise wrote:

Ah come back! Its fun really!

Really?!

starling

Tramiquette LOL! In fairness, enterprise is right. Mostly the luas is great, way better than the bus, if you happen to be going somewhere Luasable.

boardy

"Tramiquette" "Luasable" ....... I love these new words.

Do you think that a new language will develop out of the Luas system and only those who ride the Luas will know what the other Luasians are saying!

Earthhorse

boardy wrote:

"Tramiquette" "Luasable" ....... I love these new words.

They're a bit superfluas to be honest.

boardy

Earthhorse wrote:

They're a bit superfluas to be honest.

Don't get excited! Don't luas your head for God's sake. We're only talking about words.

DéiseGirl

starling wrote:

Tramiquette LOL! In fairness, enterprise is right. Mostly the luas is great, way better than the bus, if you happen to be going somewhere Luasable.

LUAS is a top notch transport system (well for where I am at the moment anyway), just don't see how he could class it as fun!

Gegerty

mathie wrote:

The person doesn't move because in all likelyhood they're going to get off before the person that just got on and thus avoid having to get into an awkward move situation
M

Ever move over to the next seat and get a waft of fart? I usually wait a minute before shifting over. If someone wants to take the seat then they can go ahead and squeeze by me. I know people who don't like sitting on other peoples warm spots either, again usually waiting a minute or at least waiting until someone says do you mind moving over.

Maskhadov

i would just tap them on the arm with a "here bud mind moving over" job. it usually works for me.

Victor

cyclopath2001 wrote:

Etiquette in Dublin? You're kidding right? Next thing, you'll be asking for people to only use only one staircase in Dart stations, to stand on the right on escalators or to let people off before trying to get on.

Come on, now get real. This is Dublin, not London.

Ah, much better is in row 2-3 upstairs, sitting in a window seat. You ask the person next to you to let you out and they stand at row 4 (stairs), so you then have to stand at row one, let them sit down ..... then you can go downstairs.

carrotcake

one thing that annoys me is when you're sitting alone in 4-seater, at a window seat during off-peak hours, and someone comes and squeezes into the seat directly in front of you so neither of you have any leg room. i've never seen this in any other country!

Litcagral

carrotcake wrote:

one thing that annoys me is when you're sitting alone in 4-seater, at a window seat during off-peak hours, and someone comes and squeezes into the seat directly in front of you so neither of you have any leg room. i've never seen this in any other country!

Just like when you park in an almost empty carpark and some other idiot decides to park right up tight beside you even though there may be hundreds of empty spaces all around.

boardy

Litcagral wrote:

Just like when you park in an almost empty carpark and some other idiot decides to park right up tight beside you even though there may be hundreds of empty spaces all around.

But my car (Betsy) gets lonely ......

homeOwner

cyclopath2001 wrote:

Etiquette in Dublin? You're kidding right? Next thing, you'll be asking for people to only use only one staircase in Dart stations, to stand on the right on escalators or to let people off before trying to get on.

Come on, now get real. This is Dublin, not London.

I was referring to the groping - not people standing up to let people past. Are you suggesting that it is common and par for the course for females to be groped on public transport. Or worse, are you suggesting that it is a only because of etiquette that people dont get groped. Did you read my post before you replied? :rolleyes:

Nevyn

Yes groping does happen and even flashing.
One of my friends was groped and had the guy expose himself to her.
She yelled and got away from him but when she went to the driver to complain
and ask for the police to be called the driver told her to get of the bus.

Earthhorse

That's disgraceful but homeOwner was making the point that it isn't "common or par for the course", which I would definitely agree with.