Can someone explain the etiquette of bus stops to me?

Princess Alice · 2016-01-26 17:03:34

I would think it would be a first-come-first-serve queue line, just like anything where you have to wait

But I can't tell you how many times I've been waiting for a bus for five or seven minutes and people come up and stand in front of me and get on the bus before me

Am I missing something, or are people around here just rude?

Tatterhood · 2016-01-26 17:09:08

Nah, people are the same around here. When I'm waiting for the bus to campus, people just form an amorphous blob and whoever ends up closest to the door to the bus gets on first. I've had the experience you describe several times, and also the opposite experience of getting on before people who've been there longer because people mispredicted where precisely the bus would stop.

I have heard legends that there are parts of the world where people actually line up for buses, but I've never seen it for myself...

Bee · 2016-01-26 17:16:29

I don't think I've ever seen anyone give a damn. Of course I also don't think I've ever used a bus stop that had more than 3-4 people waiting at once and/or were awake enough to give a damn if they had any to give because it was 6:30 in the morning and oh my God school needs to start later what is wrong with this country.

The only time I've seen more than a tiny handful of people trying to get on a bus at once was on band trips, in which case absolutely nobody gave a damn at all.

Princess Alice · 2016-01-26 17:22:29

I really wouldn't care one way or the other, except if there are enough people waiting, the order that you board the bus can determine whether you'll get to sit or have to stand...or, in the extreme cases, whether you'll make it on the bus at all before it's full.

Bee · 2016-01-26 17:33:45

I guess I've never lived in a city dense enough for a bus being so full that it literally cannot hold people to be a thing. I've had to stand a few times on the EMX, but even then I'm kinda...

Vriska · 2016-01-26 17:45:55

Don't be the weird old lady who kept asking me personal questions while we were waiting. Seriously woman, it is not your business if I am married, how old I am, or what I do for a living.

...lol this was a few years ago and I still remember because she was just... so offended when I said I was sorry but I didn't want to answer?

But the "gather in a blob and squeeze on" thing happens here sometimes too. Sometimes standing room only if it was a particularly busy kind of day, but that was rare.

Imipolex G · 2016-01-27 03:45:28

glennmagusharvey · 2016-01-27 03:47:38

you're supposed to stand between the giant brown mouse and the bus stop sign

One-Winged Eagle · 2016-01-27 03:48:13

The etiquette is, use whatever methods you can to get on the bus first without actually resorting to physicality or abuse.

They're strangers. You'll never see them again. So fuck them.

Also, I take the bus once, twice a week, and I always try to take the double-decker so I can get a seat.

Princess Alice · 2016-01-27 03:48:40

Bee said:
I guess I've never lived in a city dense enough for a bus being so full that it literally cannot hold people to be a thing. I've had to stand a few times on the EMX, but even then I'm kinda...

Ohio State University has their own buses that run around the campus. That seems like "oh, just a campus loop, who cares?" until you realize that OSU is quite literally bigger than a lot of small cities.

At peak times, when everyone's trying to get in from the cheaper parking lots to the academic buildings a half hour's walk away, the buses can fill up fast.

Bee · 2016-01-27 04:07:52

That sounds a lot like the UO dorms to Autzen, which for some reason is a full mile off campus and across a big river with no nearby road bridge. The shortest way by car/bus is like 3 miles, and on gameday it's continuous traffic jam all day. The problem wasn't getting on a bus, it was taking nearly an hour and a half once you were on it to get somewhere you could've gone on foot in a third of the distance and time.

Half the band would usually stay the night with the section leaders in nearby student housing just so they didn't have to deal with postgame traffic.

Yarrun XIX · 2016-01-27 04:22:49

When travelling on a bus, it is imperative that you follow the following rules of etiquette:

Put a cheap teabag in the clay frog's mouth to ensure safe travel without impacting your budget
While waiting for a bus, eschew all eye-to-eye contact and stick your arms out at regular intervals to discourage beard rustlers.
Make the turn signal with your hands after giving the driver your fare
When the man in the trilby asks you to play a board game, select Go in winter, Backgammon in summer, and Othello if you're in a hurry. Never refer to it as Reversi.
The proper weapon of choice when challenged to a duel is pistols while hanging from the chassis. Remember to aim low; your accuracy will suffer, but you'll most likely avoid damaging the engine.
If you choose to seduce the Jill of Lilacs, your Deutschmarks will be better spent on bribing the DJ to play Dancehall than buying her drinks. Remember, if you account for polyrhythmics, the Waltz form can be done to any music, no matter what the beat
When you arrive at your destination, be sure to make breakfast for the beloved before disembarking.

One-Winged Eagle · 2016-01-27 04:31:22

Yarrun XIX said:
When travelling on a bus, it is imperative that you follow the following rules of etiquette:
Put a cheap teabag in the clay frog's mouth to ensure safe travel without impacting your budget
While waiting for a bus, eschew all eye-to-eye contact and stick your arms out at regular intervals to discourage beard rustlers.
Make the turn signal with your hands after giving the driver your fare
When the man in the trilby asks you to play a board game, select Go in winter, Backgammon in summer, and Othello if you're in a hurry. Never refer to it as Reversi.
The proper weapon of choice when challenged to a duel is pistols while hanging from the chassis. Remember to aim low; your accuracy will suffer, but you'll most likely avoid damaging the engine.
If you choose to seduce the Jill of Lilacs, your Deutschmarks will be better spent on bribing the DJ to play Dancehall than buying her drinks. Remember, if you account for polyrhythmics, the Waltz form can be done to any music, no matter what the beat
When you arrive at your destination, be sure to make breakfast for the beloved before disembarking.

You're the best.

Yarrun XIX · 2016-01-27 04:55:09

That list is, of course, for the person of low dispensable income. Ideally, one should use real tea leaves in the clay frog and gamble the Jack of Teeth for his key. But we understand that not everyone can indulge in such pleasures.

eriophora zia · 2016-01-27 04:55:29

Bee said:
That sounds a lot like the UO dorms to Autzen, which for some reason is a full mile off campus and across a big river with no nearby road bridge. The shortest way by car/bus is like 3 miles, and on gameday it's continuous traffic jam all day. The problem wasn't getting on a bus, it was taking nearly an hour and a half once you were on it to get somewhere you could've gone on foot in a third of the distance and time.

Half the band would usually stay the night with the section leaders in nearby student housing just so they didn't have to deal with postgame traffic.

Are you in UO's band? :O If so, any chance you're a brother in KKPsi?

Sredni Vashtar · 2016-01-27 04:58:24

Bee said:
I guess I've never lived in a city dense enough for a bus being so full that it literally cannot hold people to be a thing.

Lucky.

Klinotaxis · 2016-01-27 05:04:10

Public transit is a fight to the death.

Tatterhood · 2016-01-28 13:48:10

I was just reminded (because it just happened) of The Worst bus stop thing, namely when the bus stops in the wrong bay and everyone just stampedes over there. This pretty much always leads to the people who were at the front of the line being the last to get on, and also causes general pandemonium.

Toolsie · 2016-01-28 13:56:06

I sometimes use buses to get my Halls from University when it's dark and cold and wet and/or I don't feel like walking the half a mile uphill from the campus to my Halls. Sometimes I get lucky and the buses are empty. Other times I have to fight my way on.

Back home in Sheffield, I use trams to get around the city, as they go from the outer suburbs into the city centre and vice versa. Some time they are quiet and empty. Other times I have a stranger's armpit shoved in my face, particularly if it's raining and it's rush hour.

Toolsie · 2016-01-28 13:57:32

There was one time when I was getting the team home from school when it was the 2007 floods, and the whole tram was full of soaking wet and miserable people.

Tachyon · 2016-01-28 14:08:43

i guess it's cuz i've never lived anywhere particularly crowded or busy, but ime, there's no system for getting on a bus and you don't have to fight your way on, people just kinda get on one at a time, whoever's nearest goes first

Toolsie · 2016-01-28 14:30:07

Most times, it is people just file on in single file.

That all changes when the weather is shit, however.

Princess Alice · 2016-01-28 17:01:39

Commuter students at OSU basically have two choices: pay $300-$500 for the privilege of parking at lots within a 10-minute walking distance of your classes, or pay $100 to park in the remote west campus lots and take the bus into central campus. It's kind of a no-brainer for most people, especially in the wintertime when it gets so cold that nobody wants to be walking outside if they can avoid it.

But this also means that if you try to get on the bus at the wrong time, a huge number of people are trying to get to/from the west campus parking lots at once and you might have to wait for the next bus.

Tatterhood said:
I was just reminded (because it just happened) of The Worst bus stop thing, namely when the bus stops in the wrong bay and everyone just stampedes over there. This pretty much always leads to the people who were at the front of the line being the last to get on, and also causes general pandemonium.

I'm reminded of the time last year when a sedan driver backed his car into the bus and we all had to get off and walk half a block to the next stop to wait for the next bus while the driver of the damaged bus waited for the police.

Bee · 2016-01-28 17:18:47

eriophora zia said:

Bee said:
That sounds a lot like the UO dorms to Autzen, which for some reason is a full mile off campus and across a big river with no nearby road bridge. The shortest way by car/bus is like 3 miles, and on gameday it's continuous traffic jam all day. The problem wasn't getting on a bus, it was taking nearly an hour and a half once you were on it to get somewhere you could've gone on foot in a third of the distance and time.

Half the band would usually stay the night with the section leaders in nearby student housing just so they didn't have to deal with postgame traffic.
Are you in UO's band? :O If so, any chance you're a brother in KKPsi?

I was in the band, but it was almost 10 years ago. IIRC it was right around when the colony got established. (Suskin and Takimoto, I think?).

It was kind of awkward, because I was in the other fraternity that was already mostly bandos, and KKPsi stole most of our prospective recruits and pretty much killed most of the momentum we had left. Like, we were actively trying to recruit two of the guys that ended up founding that KKPsi colony. But it's been pretty important in keeping the band well-funded, so frankly I'd rather have that.

Tachyon · 2016-01-29 13:43:05

Yarrun XIX said:
When travelling on a bus, it is imperative that you follow the following rules of etiquette:
Put a cheap teabag in the clay frog's mouth to ensure safe travel without impacting your budget
While waiting for a bus, eschew all eye-to-eye contact and stick your arms out at regular intervals to discourage beard rustlers.
Make the turn signal with your hands after giving the driver your fare
When the man in the trilby asks you to play a board game, select Go in winter, Backgammon in summer, and Othello if you're in a hurry. Never refer to it as Reversi.
The proper weapon of choice when challenged to a duel is pistols while hanging from the chassis. Remember to aim low; your accuracy will suffer, but you'll most likely avoid damaging the engine.
If you choose to seduce the Jill of Lilacs, your Deutschmarks will be better spent on bribing the DJ to play Dancehall than buying her drinks. Remember, if you account for polyrhythmics, the Waltz form can be done to any music, no matter what the beat
When you arrive at your destination, be sure to make breakfast for the beloved before disembarking.

this is an underappreciated post

Princess Alice · 2016-02-09 16:30:01

A bunch of students pack into an overcrowded bus. It's cold and snowy and nobody wants to walk outdoors if they have to.

Bus driver: "Please get out of my mirror, sir."

A couple of us look at each other. We have no idea who he's talking to or which mirror we're blocking.

Bus driver: (frustrated) "Get out of my mirror, sir!"

I exchange a confused glance with the guy next to me. We each step aside a little, each thinking maybe we're the one blocking the mirror.

The bus driver sighs and starts driving again. Guess it wasn't either of us.

Sredni Vashtar · 2016-02-09 18:11:13

Tachyon said:

Yarrun XIX said:
When travelling on a bus, it is imperative that you follow the following rules of etiquette:
Put a cheap teabag in the clay frog's mouth to ensure safe travel without impacting your budget
While waiting for a bus, eschew all eye-to-eye contact and stick your arms out at regular intervals to discourage beard rustlers.
Make the turn signal with your hands after giving the driver your fare
When the man in the trilby asks you to play a board game, select Go in winter, Backgammon in summer, and Othello if you're in a hurry. Never refer to it as Reversi.
The proper weapon of choice when challenged to a duel is pistols while hanging from the chassis. Remember to aim low; your accuracy will suffer, but you'll most likely avoid damaging the engine.
If you choose to seduce the Jill of Lilacs, your Deutschmarks will be better spent on bribing the DJ to play Dancehall than buying her drinks. Remember, if you account for polyrhythmics, the Waltz form can be done to any music, no matter what the beat
When you arrive at your destination, be sure to make breakfast for the beloved before disembarking.

this is an underappreciated post

Agreed.

glennmagusharvey · 2016-02-09 19:38:56

I want to do something with that post but I'm not sure what.

Yarrun XIX · 2016-02-09 20:10:15

The Jill of Lilacs, the Jack of Teeth, the Jill of Horseshoes and the Jack of Butts

deutschmarks, francs, drachma, lira

Can someone explain the etiquette of bus stops to me?

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