Metro Transit Bus manners (Minneapolis, St. Paul: buy, high school, university)

[uptown_urbanist]

I remember seeing a video a few years ago where someone had filmed people getting onto a Twin Cities bus; my memory is a bit fuzzy, but the gist of it was that Minnesotans are not comfortable squishing into one shared space, and as it filled up people didn't just pile on, but rather stood quite some distance from their neighbors -- incredibly annoying for anyone who is getting on in the front of the bus and doesn't have anywhere to sit or stand! Very stereotypically "Minnesotan," though. Having been a transit rider in many cities (as resident and visitor) my own personal take on it is that here people are worse about sitting on the outside of the seat (and others are more likely to just stand, rather than squeeze by the offender to sit down or even to say "excuse me") and on crowded buses people here really are worse about the "move on back" part. No one wants to accidentally touch anyone else, even on mass transit.

All that said, I think overall it's somewhere in the middle in term of public transportation manners. Less polite than some (LA was the most polite place, I thought), far more polite than others (San Francisco by far the worse).

[PullMyFinger]

Originally Posted by alwaystopbanana

Sorry to rant, but this has really irriatated me. I was on the 50 bus today, and it was letting, people on and off at anderson hall. There was a guy in a wheel chair that needed the lift to get off the bus,so the driver said outloud to people to wait, someone is getting, these two colleges guys ignored the driver and got on anyways. I felt that was so rude to the driver and the guy that needed the lift.

Other things that irritate me are when people sit on the outside seat of seat row, so other people cannot sit down, If the bus is fairly empty fine, but many times I have encountered people do this when the bus is full- to packed so others cannot sit down.

maybe its just passive aggressive behavior but I find it so rude.

I have seen people cut in front of people with disabilities to get on the elevators at my college as well ugh.

Sorry to say but many parents never taught their kids manners growing up and you can see it now that they are young adults. Maybe Apple will invent an app for the iphone that will enable good manners. We can only hope.

[Azul91]

Originally Posted by PullMyFinger

Sorry to say but many parents never taught their kids manners growing up and you can see it now that they are young adults. Maybe Apple will invent an app for the iphone that will enable good manners. We can only hope.

We can only hope they do!

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by ManBearPig1

And please people, exit out of the back of the bus, if people are getting on in front! (the disabled, parents with strollers, etc. aside, of course)

Totally agree. Also annoys me when mothers get on with a stroller and are too lazy to fold it up. So it sits right in the aisle and other passengers have to try to squeeze by. Kinda wish that coop daycare could be more popular with bus riders. Seems like some of them have to take their entire family on every trip. Contraception is a private decision, but afterward all of society becomes involved.

[LJQA1984]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

When I visited Toronto, I was amazed at the cooperation of people. Absolutely NO ONE got on the buses I rode and THEN dug around to see if they had the fare to ride. Result was that those buses loaded much faster than in the Twin Cities. It always amazes me to see people who were standing at the bus stop and never thought to dig out the money, transfer, or whatever they are using. How idle were their brains?

When I was on a bus in Los Angeles a few months back, we pulled up to a stop and the lady sitting there proceeded to fiddle with her bags, dig for her fare, check her makeup, etc. After 10 seconds the driver sped away. As she screamed after the quickly disappearing bus, we all roared with laughter. Then the driver looked at us in her mirror and said "What am I, a d--- taxi?"
We all applauded!

That said, most of the drivers here do not take any mess from my experience. I've seen them chew people out for holding up the bus, not moving back, language, etc.

[Beenhere4ever]

Funny story!!! I rode the LRT to Mall of America tonight. There were a bunch of people acting like they were drunk. At one point a woman next to me shouted half the length of the car and then went and joined them. I shortly sought out the available seat farthest away. At one stop the transit police got on and went and stood in a doorway right next to them. Not sure if a passenger called Metro Transit, but now I'm thinking that could be a cool idea. The recorded messages say "Be cconsiderate to other passengers. Do not p ut your feet on the seats". I was thinking I should ask them to add "and settle down for the ride so others can enjoy it too". We need "quiet cars" on the LRT. Never welcomed the uniforms more than I did tonight. They could have thrown the whole bunch off the train. These people are a big deterrent to the adoption of public transit by drivers. They undo a lot of the good that advertising does in luring more passengers.

[golfgal]

My guess is the driver had cameras in the cab to keep an eye on the cars and notified the Transit Cops.

[Beenhere4ever]

Very possible. I might have a look around next ride. The buses have had cameras for years. Given the recent larceny problems on train station platforms, a photo record of people boarding might now be kept for evidence and tracking down the thieves.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by PullMyFinger

Sorry to say but many parents never taught their kids manners growing up and you can see it now that they are young adults. Maybe Apple will invent an app for the iphone that will enable good manners. We can only hope.

I've found it's not us "young adults" that are the issue. Whenever I've had issues on the bus, it has been older people.

I am always confused about the people who don't board with fare ready. The Go-To pass (or in my case, the U-Pass...buses usually aren't too bad around the U because everyone has one) is a real timesaver. I wish more people would use it, and I really don't understand why people who are clearly frequent bus-users still use change every time. If you ride the bus nearly every day, you'll save a decent chunk of money.

I did have an interesting bus ride the other day though. I got on the 10 at about Nicollet and 7th and some lady and her child boarded. The bus driver proceeded to go over the microphone and make growling noises and hit on the woman. It was really odd. He just kept doing it over and over again. Then, as we crossed the Central Ave Bridge, he decided it would be a funny idea to open the front door and talk about how windy it was. This driver definitely lacked any professionalism. It's one thing to have a good time, it's another to hit on people and be stupid.

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by xandrex

I've found it's not us "young adults" that are the issue. Whenever I've had issues on the bus, it has been older people.

I am always confused about the people who don't board with fare ready. The Go-To pass (or in my case, the U-Pass...buses usually aren't too bad around the U because everyone has one) is a real timesaver. I wish more people would use it, and I really don't understand why people who are clearly frequent bus-users still use change every time. If you ride the bus nearly every day, you'll save a decent chunk of money.

I did have an interesting bus ride the other day though. I got on the 10 at about Nicollet and 7th and some lady and her child boarded. The bus driver proceeded to go over the microphone and make growling noises and hit on the woman. It was really odd. He just kept doing it over and over again. Then, as we crossed the Central Ave Bridge, he decided it would be a funny idea to open the front door and talk about how windy it was. This driver definitely lacked any professionalism. It's one thing to have a good time, it's another to hit on people and be stupid.

Older people are more likely to use prepaid fares. I take it is because we aren't living on pennies and dimes. We can get the card or the pass, and we can invest some bucks in it because we don't spend every cent we have instantly. The people with expired transfers and a few coins short of the fare are almost 100 percent teenagers and early 20s. Even a bus ride is a stretch for them. But they seem unable to walk a few blocks. None of them look crippled, but they will try to ride a few blocks on an expired transfer. The brainpower of such people is a huge question mark.