I''ve noticed a recent uptick in a Metro behavior that I've long found annoying, but have now really grown to really hate. Which is, during rush hour, someone asking me to let them out of their seat before the train has come to a complete stop, just so they can get up and be closer to the doors when they open. This comes in two forms: 1) The person in the inside seat asking the person on the aisle seat to stand and move aside so they can get out, and 2) The person in the aisle seat asking the person standing right beside them to let go of the handrail and move so they can stand up.
Let's talk about the second one first. If you're standing in the aisle on the Metro, there are no poles close by and you often have only two options to keep yourself steady and upright, neither one great. You can either hold onto one of the handrails that run along the top of the train or you can hold onto one of the handrails that are on the back of each Metro seat. The former is hella uncomfortable, and the latter doesn't really provide much in the way of balance. But they're better than nothing, which is what you have if you have to let go of them in order to allow someone out of his or her seat.
A couple of months ago, the train I was on was incredibly jerky. I was standing up and, my feet planted, hanging onto one of the seat handrails for dear life. About a minute before we reached the station, the guy in the seat next to me tapped me on the arm and said, "Excuse me," and started to stand up. Just then, we hit whatever the subway track equivalent of a big wave is, and even with my death grip on the handrail, I was thrown forward a couple of steps. If I'd let go a second earlier, I would have gone flying into the old woman standing in front of me.
Being asked to move by the person sitting next to you is an even bigger pain in the ass. You have to get out of your seat while the train is still moving, and if it's crowded, also ask anyone standing nearby to make room as well. Same situation: As the train was pulling into the station, the woman sitting next to me said, "I'm getting off at the next stop," and stood up expectantly. If I'd paused a second to think about it, I would have told her politely that I'd get up when the train had stopped. Unfortunately, I complied. This time, I didn't almost go shooting across the train, but it wasn't exactly a smooth procedure, either.
If these two had been isolated incidents, I might not be making such a big deal out of it. But I'd say that as of late, it either happens to me or I see it happen to someone else at least once or twice a week. Going forward, I've decided not to play along. I'm just going to acknowledge the request but not actually move until the train stops. Or if that's too subtle, I'll tell the person, "Sure, but I'm going to wait until the train stops." Largely because it's a pain in the ass, but more importantly, it's a bullshit thing for someone to ask in the first place.
I mean, do people think that if they're not near the door the moment it opens, they might not make it off? In all my years of riding the Metro, I've seen exactly one person be trapped on a train because he couldn't get off before the operator closed the doors. Hell, I once saw a woman who had dozed off and didn't wake up until the "Step back, doors closing" message played, and still had enough time to realize she was at her stop, leap up, dash to the doors, and jump off before they closed. I'm somewhat more sympathetic to the argument that people might want to get off quickly so they can catch another train, but not so sympathetic that I'm going to do anything about it. It's rush hour. It's not like there isn't going to be another train in three minutes.
The only way this advance notification is even sort of excusable is if you're simply giving the person next to you a heads up that you're getting off at the next stop, without the expectation that they're immediately going to move for you. But unless they have a kid or a large bag in their lap that would make standing up more complicated than usual, it seems unnecessary. I think Metro riders are pretty well trained to recognize the body language of the person next to us when he or she is preparing to leave the train, and will quickly move aside when it's appropriate.
I get being in a hurry. But if it's really that important, stand up at the stop before yours so you're ready to disembark. Or hey, just don't sit down in the first place. Certainly not in a window seat. You can have the comfort of sitting down during your rush hour commute or you can be the first one off the train. But when you try and have both, you're being an asshole.
Let's talk about the second one first. If you're standing in the aisle on the Metro, there are no poles close by and you often have only two options to keep yourself steady and upright, neither one great. You can either hold onto one of the handrails that run along the top of the train or you can hold onto one of the handrails that are on the back of each Metro seat. The former is hella uncomfortable, and the latter doesn't really provide much in the way of balance. But they're better than nothing, which is what you have if you have to let go of them in order to allow someone out of his or her seat.
A couple of months ago, the train I was on was incredibly jerky. I was standing up and, my feet planted, hanging onto one of the seat handrails for dear life. About a minute before we reached the station, the guy in the seat next to me tapped me on the arm and said, "Excuse me," and started to stand up. Just then, we hit whatever the subway track equivalent of a big wave is, and even with my death grip on the handrail, I was thrown forward a couple of steps. If I'd let go a second earlier, I would have gone flying into the old woman standing in front of me.
Being asked to move by the person sitting next to you is an even bigger pain in the ass. You have to get out of your seat while the train is still moving, and if it's crowded, also ask anyone standing nearby to make room as well. Same situation: As the train was pulling into the station, the woman sitting next to me said, "I'm getting off at the next stop," and stood up expectantly. If I'd paused a second to think about it, I would have told her politely that I'd get up when the train had stopped. Unfortunately, I complied. This time, I didn't almost go shooting across the train, but it wasn't exactly a smooth procedure, either.
If these two had been isolated incidents, I might not be making such a big deal out of it. But I'd say that as of late, it either happens to me or I see it happen to someone else at least once or twice a week. Going forward, I've decided not to play along. I'm just going to acknowledge the request but not actually move until the train stops. Or if that's too subtle, I'll tell the person, "Sure, but I'm going to wait until the train stops." Largely because it's a pain in the ass, but more importantly, it's a bullshit thing for someone to ask in the first place.
I mean, do people think that if they're not near the door the moment it opens, they might not make it off? In all my years of riding the Metro, I've seen exactly one person be trapped on a train because he couldn't get off before the operator closed the doors. Hell, I once saw a woman who had dozed off and didn't wake up until the "Step back, doors closing" message played, and still had enough time to realize she was at her stop, leap up, dash to the doors, and jump off before they closed. I'm somewhat more sympathetic to the argument that people might want to get off quickly so they can catch another train, but not so sympathetic that I'm going to do anything about it. It's rush hour. It's not like there isn't going to be another train in three minutes.
The only way this advance notification is even sort of excusable is if you're simply giving the person next to you a heads up that you're getting off at the next stop, without the expectation that they're immediately going to move for you. But unless they have a kid or a large bag in their lap that would make standing up more complicated than usual, it seems unnecessary. I think Metro riders are pretty well trained to recognize the body language of the person next to us when he or she is preparing to leave the train, and will quickly move aside when it's appropriate.
I get being in a hurry. But if it's really that important, stand up at the stop before yours so you're ready to disembark. Or hey, just don't sit down in the first place. Certainly not in a window seat. You can have the comfort of sitting down during your rush hour commute or you can be the first one off the train. But when you try and have both, you're being an asshole.
4 comments:
Nailed it. And if you're a person who reads like me picking up my bag, holding onto my Kindle, and trying to "balance" on a moving train with no immediate available hands to hold onto something to let some antsy douche out of his seat is a freakin' chore.
I completely agree with everything you said. IME everyone always makes it off. I've been riding since 2002 and have maybe seen it happen once or twice where someone got screwed. I think people panic when they realize there's a crowd between them and the door but thats the price you pay for one of those cherished inside seats.
Side note: inside seats are awesome because theres no obligation to get up for that old person thats kinda old but not quite old enough to warrant you having to get up
This has been an annoyance for me for quite awhile. Whether I am sitting or standing next to the annoying person who wants to move to the door, I comply with their request, but in a painfully slow manner.
I'm starting a new site that is geared for disabled persons in the Metropolitan area. This site will be for disable persons to submit areas in Wash. DC, Maryland and Virginia to give credit to businesses, theaters, bars, clubs etc that are TRULY handicap accessible.
The setback is...I don't have a disability, you see. I've been a paratransit operator for 3 years and alot of my riders have become friends. One day I dropped a guy off at the Marriott hotel in Greenbelt to go to the bar. He told me he had called ahead to ask if they were accessible. They told him they were. When I picked him up 6 hours later, he told me that they made him go out of the front, around the parking lot and he and his date entered through the kitchen. When they went to eat, they had to wait 45 mins as other diners were uprooted and reseated..WITH food in hand. The look of embarrassment and shame doused his face. When he went to the bar section, there was a 7 inch step that hindered him from entering the bar area.
I'm looking to set up a "directory" as well as an interactive community on this website. Somewhere that they can submit places that are TRULY accessible by persons with ALL disabilities.
Please check out www.AccessTheDMV.com
I'd be happy to add your site as a backlink.
Post a Comment