the hell that is public transport

Contributor: Samurai

This week I have caught the ferry and bus to work and this weekend I took a train to Sydney and back. I have to tell you I think I need a whole lot of therapy now!

On the buses

Bus drivers seem to take great delight in driving in sharp, jerky ways that cause passengers who are standing to lurch and overbalance. They also like to be late. And the crowning glory of the early morning bus ride to work is the seeming thousands of school kids who are crammed onto every bus. Other passengers also seem to drop bottles on the floor that roll around every time the bus starts or stops, and they also love to cough their guts up in horrible wheezy ways so that you don’t want to touch the button that rings the bell that indicates you want to get off.

On the ferry

Of all the forms of public transport I have experienced this week, the ferry has been the most enjoyable. It crosses water and takes 5 minutes each way – not long enough for too many school fights to break out. I quite like the ferry.

On the trains

Trains. I thought I was doing well for tolerating one carriage for over 2 hours that had a ‘squealer’ in it. It was OK, but after 2 hours as the volume and pitch began to escalate, I quietly moved to the next carriage. Strangely, it seemed rather empty in comparison to the one I just left. Then I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between a couple who were fighting. Soon other passengers entered – a group of loud and laughing girls, and also a young couple who sat directly in front of me. And they began arguing too. The girl was disregarding pleading from her boyfriend, and searching his mobile phone only to begin berating him for having other girls’ phone numbers on his phone. The tone, volume and language continued and continued and escalated to the point where I stood and moved to the end of the carriage at the doors. Then I heard them screaming at each other. It’s not the language that bothers me so much (which would sizzle anyone’s ears by the way), but the need to have such interactions in front of total strangers who feel powerless to do anything except get out of the way and let them at it. Quite disturbing really.

The car

So this week as I launch into my second working week at a new job, I’m going to experiment with taking the car. It will take the same amount of time as the public transport and be more expensive with petrol and paid car parking, but as an investment into my own wellbeing, I’ll drive the car for the next week and see how that works.

This is what I think hell is like: NSW public transport.

Do you have any good public transport stories? Click ‘here’ and vent so I don’t feel like the only one.