September 20th, 2004
Impatient commuter syndrome
Over the past several months that I have
been taking the train into work, I have noticed something weird about the
way people behave when it comes to riding the train. I thought that
starting this blog along with a friend of mine, who also takes the train
into work, will help shed some light on the woes of taking public transportation.
And maybe, with a lot of luck, help restore social order and a sense
of common decency among those that take advantage of the public transit
system.
The people at my train station seem to think the train is there to pick
them up and everybody else is just along for the ride. I normally
get to the train station a little early so I don't have to rush or perform
the 100 meter dash to catch the train. Although a little exercise
now and then wouldn't hurt me. There are several spots along the
tracks that people gather at so that the train doors will end up in front
of them. I will normally be the second person to my spot just behind
a girl that must get there 20 minutes early. In most situations the
order at which people would be served, say for instance at a restaurant,
would be the order at which they arrive. Not at my train station.
Even though the door is wide enough to let several people on at a
time, I am almost never the second person on the train. There are
people that would shove their grandmothers out of the way to get on the
train. I know this seems somewhat petty in nature but it erks me
that people that just arrived to the station as the train rolls up deserve
to get on the train before people that have been waiting longer. Maybe
there should be a hostess at the train station that takes your name and
hands you one of those vibrating pagers to let you know your seat is available
