Phone call on the bus

Fakman87

I'm currently on the bus having listened to the guy behind me talk on the phone for 20 minutes.

I want to strangle him.

People of AH, am I in the wrong here? Is it generally acceptable to make casual phone calls when on the bus?

Birneybau

I steadfastly refuse to answer my phone on the bus.

I bought an automatic car so I can chat while driving.

I don't do buses.

Amazingfun

Fakman87 wrote: »

I'm currently on the bus having listened to the guy behind me talk on the phone for 20 minutes.

I want to strangle him.

People of AH, am I in the wrong here? Is it generally acceptable to make casual phone calls when on the bus?

This is the main reason I cycle everywhere now

Generic Dreadhead

I've never answered a phone call, not even once.

Whatsisname

People's lack of self awareness to talk as loudly as possible during a private conversation is astounding.

errlloyd

Whenever I get a call on the bus I answer. I say "I can't take the call because I'm on the bus and I'll ring back", to remind commuters it's not okay.

I think in Germany trains have phone carriages. This (and not safety) is why phones need to remain banned on planes.

fizzypish

Deleted User wrote: »

I bought an automatic car so I can chat while driving.

I don't do buses.

What does the car having an automatic gear box have to do with you answering the phone while driving. Its still illegal and your equally likely to crash if something occurs?

RWCNT

Unless he's talking about very personal stuff or being offensive I don't see why it would bother you at all. I'm forever hearing people moan about all sorts of stuff they see people doing on the train/dart/bus. Women putting their makeup on seems to be a big no no as well. I really don't get why people don't slap on their headphones and mind their own business.

FunLover18

bottlebrush

I had an experience recently in a fairly large restaurant where a guy sitting at the table behind me was on the phone at the top of his voice to his phone provider making a complaint about nuisance calls he had been receiving. Not sure if there was a bad line or what but he had to keep repeating very loudly his mobile number to the person he was speaking to. Everybody else in the restaurant with their heads down sniggering......one or two subtly taking note of his number.......

iDave

RWCNT wrote: »

I really don't get why people don't slap on their headphones and mind their own business.

That's another one, tossers with headphones at full volume.

Egginacup

Fakman87 wrote: »

I'm currently on the bus having listened to the guy behind me talk on the phone for 20 minutes.

I want to strangle him.

People of AH, am I in the wrong here? Is it generally acceptable to make casual phone calls when on the bus?

On the trains in the Netherlands they have designated "quiet" cars in first and economy class. I always select one if I can and always derive great pleasure from telling some twonk who's blabbing away into his handset to hang up or gtfo into the standing area.

john the one

Turn the ringer on on your phone so ur sounds like you are getting a call, pretend to answer and say rather loudly, sorry, I can't talk at the moment, some ass hole on the bus is hogging all the decibels!

The Backwards Man

Have you informed the UN?

Dog of Tears

After a rather unsavoury experience where I had the misfortune of being trapped in a train carriage having to listen to a wanker have a loud conversation for over 40minutes, I decided on three things.
1) I hated this individual more than anyone else on the planet. Say what you like about Hitler, but I think he would have more self-awareness than to inflict the utter mundanity of his life and mind with a carriage full of strangers.
2) I needed to invest in a good set of earphones.
3)I needed to eventually invest in a car.

The point is, I learned from this lesson and you should too.

jamesbere

I was on a bus before and there was this one having a conversation on the phone talking as loudly as possible, so I turned around and told to shut the f**k up, nobody wants to hear your private life.

I was also very hungover so hearing a pin drop probably would have ticked me off

spiralism

iDave wrote: »

That's another one, tossers with headphones at full volume.

People who play music off their phone speakers on public transport should be shot imo.

bjork

Is it Kenya they´re ringing?
I know who that might be

RWCNT

iDave wrote: »

That's another one, tossers with headphones at full volume.

Cranked up ones irritate me but I do think anyone getting on the bus without some form of distraction is a mentaller.

seamusk84

Tell us what the conversation is about?

OldNotWIse

I'll answer but only to say, "I'm on the bus, I'll call you back in a few".

iDave

spiralism wrote: »

People who play music off their phone speakers on public transport should be shot imo.

With balls of their own sh1te

conorhal

Dog of Tears wrote: »

After a rather unsavoury experience where I had the misfortune of being trapped in a train carriage having to listen to a wanker have a loud conversation for over 40minutes, I decided on three things.
1) I hated this individual more than anyone else on the planet. Say what you like about Hitler, but I think he would have more self-awareness than to inflict the utter mundanity of his life and mind with a carriage full of strangers.
2) I needed to invest in a good set of earphones.
3)I needed to eventually invest in a car.

1)Punch him the thoat

The point is, I he learned from this lesson and you should too.

Fixed that for ya!

eeepaulo

You could join in and offer them some advise.

Better yet, tell us what they are talking about and we can all offer them some advice.

"hi i just posted your dilemma on an internet forum, they think you should...."

smeal

phones aside...... CAN PEOPLE PLEASE LEARN TO BLOW THEIR NOSES ON THE BUS??!! Bus to work this morning was FULL of sick notes.. literally a choir of heavy sniffling...ewwww...

And I forgot my earphones....

anncoates

I'll take the call but if it's very important, I'll conclude it as quickly and quietly as possible; if it's just somebody ringing to chat, I tell them I'll ring them back later.

There's little I detest more than listening to a really loud, interminable personal phone call on public transport.

fizzypish

fizzypish wrote: »

What does the car having an automatic gear box have to do with you answering the phone while driving. Its still illegal and your equally likely to crash if something occurs?

I was being facetious.

gazzer

spiralism wrote: »

People who play music off their phone speakers on public transport should be shot imo.

This x 1,000,000. How selfish do you have to be to think that anybody else wants to listen to your sh1tty taste in music in a confined space?

The Peanut

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Have you informed the UNinterested?

Yes, that would be us.

smeal

gazzer wrote: »

This x 1,000,000. How selfish do you have to be to think that anybody else wants to listen to your sh1tty taste in music in a confined space?

OR people who have sh**e earphones so you can hear the bass of terrible music

El_Duderino 09

Whats the difference between someone on the phone and the same person having a conversation. If they are on the phone, you only have to hear half as much talking.

Hold on, Why on earth do you have the right to tell anyone else not to talk on a bus? How the hell is it any of your business?

RWCNT

I still don't understand why people taking phone calls at a reasonable volume annoys some but it's clearly a commonly held view.

Can anyone shed any light on the problem with people applying lipstick/makeup? It comes up in the UK Metro pretty regularly for some reason.

anncoates

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

How the hell is it any of your business?

The volume of some conversations make it your business, in spite of your strenuous efforts.

circadian

iDave wrote: »

That's another one, tossers with headphones at full volume.

This is what I do when someone with a lack of respect for personal space sits beside me.

What's that? You're just going to rest against me and you have no music to listen to?

Yeah, here have some Dillinger Escape Plan so.

El_Duderino 09

anncoates wrote: »

The volume of some conversations make it your business, in spite of your strenuous efforts.

Fair one. If they are being loud that comes under being rude due to volume, same as playing music loudly.

You could ask them to be quiet but have no right, whatsoever, to tell them to stop talking on their phone.

If people are talking at normal conversational volume (taking into account the background noise on the bus/train) then it is the listener who needs to find something else to entertain them rather than faux outrage.

anncoates

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Fair one. If they are being loud that comes under being rude due to volume, same as playing music.

You could ask them to be quiet but have no right, whatsoever, to tell them to stop talking on their phone.

If people are talking at normal conversational volume (taking into account the background noise on the bus/train) then it is the listener who needs to fend something else to entertain them rather than faux outrage.

I'd assume the overwhelming amount of conversations people are discussing are the overly loud ones. You wouldn't really notice quiet ones.

Son Of A Vidic

Whatsisname wrote: »

People's lack of self awareness to talk as loudly as possible during a private conversation is astounding.

Whenever I receive a call and I'm in close proximity to strangers. I will always deliberately speak quite low and I'll usually say "I will call you back." or " I can't talk right now." I can't understand how some just ratchet up the volume when they receive a call. But it's probably something to do with them possessing an abundance of ignorance and stupidity in equal measures.

hmmm

Common manners doesn't matter to most of them, I'm convinced they are deliberately talking as loud as possible because they want everyone in the bus to hear their conversation. It's a form of attention seeking with a captive audience.

vienne86

I think talking on the phone in the bus is OK.....it's the shouting into the phone that gets me. Why do people feel they have to shout?

Pumpkinseeds

I usually have the I pod with me when I'm on buses but one day last year I forgot it and had to listen to a woman gossiping away on her phone about a young local person who had just taken their own life. An absolutely tragic thing and not something to be gossiping about publicly. I couldn't help wondering if there were any friends or relatives of the deceased's on that bus. If there had of been it would have been deeply upsetting for them to have to listen to the s-hit she was spouting, she even said to her pal that she didn't know the person, 'just knew the face', Fcuking vultures.

ballyharpat

I hate people talking on the phone in public transport, I had on more than one occasion 'answered' my phone in america and said I couldn't talk as I wasn't able to hear them over the sound of someone talking loudly on their phone..... Around 2008, the bus drivers in America started announcing on trips, that there was to be no prolonged phone calls during the trip, if it was necessary to answer the phone, be considerate of fellow passengers and keep it brief...... I think there had been a lot of violent outbursts and people being hurt for their lack of courtesy to other travelers.

Re someone going on a bus without some form of entertainment-headphones/book, That should not be necessary, I used to love going on the bus and/or train at times, I find the motions soothing and relaxing and sometimes can use it as a meditation.... I know plenty of people, myself included (at times) that would rather the comfort of public transport, than being stuck in traffic and having to concentrate for long journeys.

Eutow

gazzer wrote: »

This x 1,000,000. How selfish do you have to be to think that anybody else wants to listen to your sh1tty taste in music in a confined space?

You can always guarantee it will be sh!te music. They never play any of the stuff from the What song makes you say "chooooone thread".

Wichita Lineman

Amazing how many auld ones chat about their hospital appointments and operations on the bus / train. Feel like tapping one of them on the shoulder and saying Jesus love, I wouldn't be telling my family about that never mind a whole bus load of us.

_Kaiser_

I remember when mobiles first started to appear around 1996/7 and I was on a bus where a guy pulled out his brick of a phone to answer a call.
Cue comments of "yuppie", "bleedin w@nker" and such from the lads down the back.

Amazing how things change! :P

BeerWolf

What difference is it between someone talking on the phone, and to someone beside? If you can't deal being in a PUBLIC transport, then might I recommend getting yourself a car ?

Egginacup

BeerWolf wrote: »

What difference is it between someone talking on the phone, and to someone beside? If you can't deal being in a PUBLIC transport, then might I recommend getting yourself a car ?

Well if it's a conversation then at least you can listen in. It might be interesting, funny, informative or just plain drivel. But when it's half of a conversation it's painful because you just have one stupid fucker blathering but you can't hear the other half so it's basically just annoying background noise.

DoYouEvenLift

I had to listen to a businessman carrying out multiple long calls with colleagues on the bus from Dublin to Limerick one time and he kept repeating "I can't give specific details at the moment as I'm on the bus, ears in the bushes". Seriously he repeated that multiple times per call, must've said it about 30 times over the space of the 3 hour journey.

fizzypish

Deleted User wrote: »

I was being facetious.

O right. Ma bad. Didn't catch that. Thought you were possibly referring to a hands free kit or something....

Back on this topic, I think the accent and volume of the conversation makes a huge difference. Was on a train recently where an American gal and Dutch guy were chatting. Him I could zone out but her, nope, that god dam accent cut through my reading concentration like a hot knife through butter!

ArmaniJeanss

BeerWolf wrote: »

What difference is it between someone talking on the phone, and to someone beside?

Talking to the person beside them tends not to be as obtrusive as people use gestures and facial expressions a lot in one-to-one conversations to signify points. None of that is possible on the phone so has to be conveyed by words.
Also there is a never a silent pause in phone conversations as there would be in one-to-one conversations, people feel the need more to fill dead air on the phone (if only to convey that they are still in the conversation).
Some people appear to naturally speak louder on the phone, often if they are themselves having trouble hearing (because of the noise of the bus moving) they appear to falsely assume they must also speak louder.

All in all, give me Deco and Shazza discussing court cases, niteclub fights, and whose turn it is to buy a fifty spot, rather than some one sided phone conversation about dental appointments, baby sitting, and lentil soup.

ScumLord

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

I had to listen to a businessman carrying out multiple long calls

We too, I just hung up on him. He was pretty upset when he got back from the meeting and hadn't the information he asked for.

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Talking to the person beside them tends not to be as obtrusive as people use gestures and facial expressions a lot in one-to-one conversations to signify points. None of that is possible on the phone so has to be conveyed by words.

People use hand gestures to emphasise points but they don't actually use sign language over words. So there's next to no difference.

Also there is a never a silent pause in phone conversations as there would be in one-to-one conversations,

I don't know what kind of telephone conversations you're having but I have to stop talking so I can hear the other person talking. I've never witnessed a phone call were both sides just talked constantly without ever stopping to hear what the other side is saying.