Train etiquette
The heading is a misnomer since there isn't much etiquette, not on the commuter trains I take to London. I love London. I hate the getting there. One reason I hate commuting is the selfishness of some of my fellow commuters.
They probably hate commuting too and that, no doubt, manifests itself in a desire to shut themselves off from others. But certain strategies adopted in doing so are simply not acceptable.
The worst of these is "seat hogging" where a passenger will place their bag and coat on the adjoining seat. This is the most common and one of the most selfish strategies employed to secure both seats for a single passenger. On a train with plenty of seats no-one is going to mind. But on a crowded train it amounts to rudeness.
Worst of all is using the same hogging tactic on a window seat so the seat hogger is placed between the seat and aisle. I have seen timid passengers standing in the aisles rather than ask for the empty seat.
I make a point of targeting the hoggers. If there is a seat with a bag and coat on it and an alternative seat without this baggage I will ask to sit at the "bagged" seat.
There are other common displays of bad behaviour: feet on seats, for example. Teenagers get a bad press but in this case they earn it. I have only seen young people with their feet up on seats.
Table hogging with computers or newspapers is not uncommon either. I know that a crowded train is little better than a chicken coup but does it have to bring out the worst in us?
They probably hate commuting too and that, no doubt, manifests itself in a desire to shut themselves off from others. But certain strategies adopted in doing so are simply not acceptable.
The worst of these is "seat hogging" where a passenger will place their bag and coat on the adjoining seat. This is the most common and one of the most selfish strategies employed to secure both seats for a single passenger. On a train with plenty of seats no-one is going to mind. But on a crowded train it amounts to rudeness.
Worst of all is using the same hogging tactic on a window seat so the seat hogger is placed between the seat and aisle. I have seen timid passengers standing in the aisles rather than ask for the empty seat.
I make a point of targeting the hoggers. If there is a seat with a bag and coat on it and an alternative seat without this baggage I will ask to sit at the "bagged" seat.
There are other common displays of bad behaviour: feet on seats, for example. Teenagers get a bad press but in this case they earn it. I have only seen young people with their feet up on seats.
Table hogging with computers or newspapers is not uncommon either. I know that a crowded train is little better than a chicken coup but does it have to bring out the worst in us?
Labels: commuting, computers, hoggers, hogging, London, newspapers, trains
posted by Richard Donkin at
11:17 AM
2 Comments:
There aren't any empty seats to hog on our trains, it's the wall hoggers - those people who spread their bags along the floor in front of the wall at the standing end of the carriage so they can lean in comfort without having to share a lousy inch - that get me!
And,......... if they're wearing headphones with the volume turned up I have to try extremely hard not to give them a good slap!
Where do these people come from? Do they have parents? Did they go to school? Why weren't they taught any manners or even the "do as you would be done by" rule? How do they manage to function in the world? Is there any hope for improvement? Is this a rant?
I finally found a spare moment to come and look at this page. it's really quite interesting actually. I too hate "seat hoggers". What makes them think that they have the right to take up more than one seat.
As for the teenagers putting their feet up on seats, I must plead guilty as charged on that one. But I would never prevent someone from sitting there. Besides, it isn't as though South West Trains actually have any standards at all when it comes to cleanliness.
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