Etiquette while commuting on public trasport

p_haugh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122421129#Comment_122421129

Most people just stick on noise cancelling headphones, look at their phone and barely notice what is going on around them

First hand experience of this yesterday morning - I got on an S4 from UCD and it filled to the brim with Language exchange students by the 2nd stop. It was the usual case of it being quite loud due to them all chatting away, but once I threw on my noise cancelling headphones it was barely noticeable!

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122420675#Comment_122420675

The thing about the plane is if the "undesirables" act out, their holiday is over, or they are marooned somewhere to cool their heels.

There are unpleasant consequences for acting the bollix on a flight or at an airport.

Tenzor07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122426830#Comment_122426830

Was offering a bit of perspective, it's very uncomfortable to be stuck in a flying metal tube for like 4 hours or so and you can't move, you can't press the bell and get off at the next stop… Even if the plane does divert the disruption and delay is massive…

veryangryman

Yes the bus is cheaper indeed. However its not enough cheaper.

Indeed it can be more expensive if I am travelling with more than 1 other person to a social thing.

Also it can be slower than driving if you include the last mile stuff of getting to the driveway/office from your stop. Door to door, the car is mostly faster. Ive done a few tests of this in Lucan where the bus was a 10 minute walk as was the office from the stop in town.

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122428359#Comment_122428359

unless you do what I’ve done and not even buy a car in the first place.

Buying and owning a car is damn expensive, I save thousands a year by not owning a car, perhaps even 10k!

The savings really add up, but I totally appreciate that not everyone is as lucky as me to live in an area with good, reliable bus service.

But the point is you are only looking at the costs above after you have already spent thousands on buying the car in the first place and insuring it and taxing it and parking it and fuelling it and repairing it.

If you skip all that, boy do the savings add up.

Tenzor07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122428359#Comment_122428359

The cost of private car ownership would get you a decade of Bus travel!!

Investment in driving lessons.

Testing

Car purchase price

Insurance

Taxation

Fuel

Maintenance

Depreciation.

Parking charges

Toll charges

veryangryman

Its a fair trade in terms of time and cash investment, all worth it and more. The flexibility of being able go anywhere anytime regardless of how many people and things i am bringing and being able to dictate which way i go and who i sit with.

Parking? You can park 10 minutes walk away if you dont want to pay it. Ive not paid to park in years. Tolls, same. Avoid by going a different route if not in a hurry.

You dont see many CEOs riding the subway, even the ones who care about the environment.

csirl

Mobile phone noise is mild compared to what you see on the Luas red line.

How about a group of teens going around punching random passengers in the face while one of their mates films it?

Strumms

get on…select seat, if seat prebooked I make sure I’m in the correct one…stow jacket, bag etc efficiently, phone on silent…headphones on if solo…. adjacent seat left free of any of my stuff and nobody has to go to the trouble of contacting me to ask me to move anything…if I need to show a ticket for inspection I have it readily available, wallet , shirt pocket or screenshot from app and I’m not faffing about… if solo travelling on TGV or Eurostar, first class or standard premier and the solo seat, a god send…. Nobody beside or facing you….

Tenzor07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122429735#Comment_122429735

Except it's not really, the cost to the individual, the cost to the state, the cost to the environment.. cost to public safety....huge!

"CEOs riding the subway" Well we don't have subway's in Ireland.. And if you look at all the soulless cities in the USA with massive wide roads and car parks littering the streets Vs. City centres in Europe and I'll take the "Subway" every day..

The Mathematician

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122429959#Comment_122429959

In addition to this, I think the 'flexibility' and 'freedom' the car brings can be an illusion a lot of the time (depending on where you live of course). The number of times I have heard car owners say they won't go into Dublin due to the traffic or due to parking problems is huge.

ShagNastii

I lived for a year in London and you really did see the "CEO riding the Subway". Every colour, class, creed and religon used it. The Underground is such a speedy, reliable, BS-free and convenient service.

Back here I'm mad to use public transport but I just can't depend on it. Phathom buses have become the norm and as this thread highlights it's not an enjoyable experience at all.

I used to swear by the Aircoach. It was a service I would wax lyrical about. But in the last few years the standard of service and timetable on offer has just tanked. All whilst the Greens were at the helm.

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122430118#Comment_122430118

I used to swear by the Aircoach. It was a service I would wax lyrical about. But in the last few years the standard of service and timetable on offer has just tanked. All whilst the Greens were at the helm.

That unfortunately seems to be largely due to terrible new management at Aircoach who have no previous experience of operating bus or coach services!

Depending on where you are going take Dublin Express instead (or Citylink if heading to Cork/Galway) excellent, reliable services like the Aircoach of old.

LXFlyer

I used to swear by the Aircoach. It was a service I would wax lyrical about. But in the last few years the standard of service and timetable on offer has just tanked. All whilst the Greens were at the helm.

I'm not sure what the Green Party has to do with the performance of a private company operating a commercial bus licence.

zell12

Comments are interesting

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/27/noise-pollution-use-headphones

Steve Allen

Was just about to post that Guardian piece.

I think a few stickers on the buses, with the odd announcement, would be a good place to start. The announcements re speaking to the driver - haven't seen someone speak to a driver since the 80s

bobbyss

Can't remember if I mentioned this before but one day i was boarding a coach and a girl behind me had her mobile on full blasting music or whatever. As I was showing my ticket to driver I said to him would he mind announcing when we pulled off about using headphones as I motioned to the girl behind me. He said no problem and he did make an announcement and as I was sitting directly behind him he gave me a thumbs up.

However I would feel a bit of a crank if I mentioned to every driver on every coach that I boarded to do the same. But a driver's announcement has limited value anyway as many people simply do not listen, many hear but don't care and finally the announcement in not clear or inaudible.

p_haugh

Was getting the S4 home yesterday, and switching to the S6 at UCD. I noticed a temporary queue system was in place at the 39A stop (which was not there earlier in the day), with 2 security guards and what looked like a Dublin Bus Inspector present. Theres also a bin moved to beside the stop so I assume drink was being confiscated. Interesting way of dealing with the tipsy college students heading into town. Not sure if this is a usual thing or just for the start of the semester.

billyhead

On the train yesterday and the carriage was full with people standing. 2 women however were sitting on the floor. A passenger gets on and gave them an earful for taking up more room then needed and told them they should be standing like the rest of us minions.

Zebra3

If a train is packed like that with people standing, aside from people sitting on the floor taking up more space, they’re actually safety hazards and need to stand up.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122685116#Comment_122685116

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122687053#Comment_122687053

Not everyone is able to stand for the duration of a journey.

veryangryman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122687124#Comment_122687124

This thread really sells our public transport system. Can't get a seat, can't even sit on the floor. Let's bypass this bs and drive

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122688028#Comment_122688028

Not everyone can drive.

veryangryman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122688233#Comment_122688233

True but not everyone on a bus can't drive. Those with the option decide to avoid PT when they hear or experience these horror stories

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122688539#Comment_122688539

If the search facility worked here, I could pull up the threads about assholes in gyms, assholes in cinemas, assholes at the beach, assholes in nightclubs and other asshole threads.

In general, on those threads, people don't get all precious and threaten to boycott the service concerned because of the occasional asshole. On public transport threads, people use assholes as an excuse to justify car centric planning.

Charles Babbage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122689628#Comment_122689628

The point is that rather than always relying on coercion, the government could actually try to make such services attractive.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122689713#Comment_122689713

I've no idea what 'coercion' you're referring to, but there's limits to what any government can do about assholes. There are assholes everywhere, so unless you want governments to invest hugely in asshole police at your expense, there's still going to be assholes, just as exist in every mode of life and in every country in the world.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122688028#Comment_122688028

And yet thousands of people use public transport every day and don’t experience these sort of things.

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122416461#Comment_122416461

I wouldn't say rail systems are dependent on cell uplink, but it is used a lot.

Burt Renaults

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122689713#Comment_122689713

I think to make public transport more attractive, they need to ramp the coercion up a bit. Create more space/priority for buses, at the expense of cars. Ensure that buses can make their way to the front of every queue, where they automatically get an immediate green light. Make it a penalty points offence to overtake a bus after it signals its intent to leave a bus stop. Give them automatic priority at roundabouts. Higher penalties for misusing a bus lane (including putting a wheel in it because you don't know where your Qashqai begins and ends).