Aug 20 2008
The 5 Most Annoying Things About Public Transportation in New York City
Anyone that lives in New York City or probably any other large city has taken public transportation at some point or another. And while public transportation is a great way to get around at a low cost, it does come with some major drawbacks.
I for one realize how amazing the subway system is. That doesn’t mean I have to tolerate it though.
Here are 5 things that I can’t stand about public transportation here in New York City.
Public displays of affection that make me want to puke
If you’re going to tongue down your girlfriend, at least have the courtesy to do it more than 15 inches from my face. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen two rather unattractive people making out and yapping less than two feet away from me. And when I hear it? See the saliva? Jesus that makes me cringe
The people who don’t move all the way in on the subway
Ever been on a subway that’s clearly not full and there’s like 10 people who get on and wind up making the subway car seem crowded even though there’s plenty of room in the middle where the seats are? How difficult is it to get your ass into the subway car? Are you that attracted to the initial pole that sits directly in front of the door? You know, the pole that 6000 people have touched with their dirty hands?
People who stand right in front of you when there’s no need to
My favorite spot on a subway car is right on the door. It’s simple, there’s places to hold on, and you can keep your balance. But sometimes, I’ll be standing there and someone enters the car. For whatever reason, they stand directly in front of me and I have to stare at their head for the next five minutes. You can’t move two inches?
The Person in a Wheelchair on a Public Bus
Don’t get me wrong. I truly feel for a person in a wheelchair. I don’t wish that situation on anyone. But anyone who has ever ridden a New York City bus can’t tell me that when a person on a wheelchair gets on or off the bus that it isn’t one of the most annoying events of all time. You’re trying to get somewhere and then boom. The driver has to go through an entire procedure to let that person off. First the unbuckling, and then that dreaded mechanical ramp that seems to take 6 hours to finally go down.
The loud groups of teens who think they are amazing
Every single person on a subway or public bus, whether they like it or not, definitely freaks out when they see groups of 5 or more young teens get on. It’s just a given that they’re going to laugh really loud and automatically be annoying. They have no consideration for other people and almost seem like they want to get a rise out of you.
Honorable Mention:
Loud Cell Phone Talkers
When people try to sell stuff on the subway and make really long announcements about it
People who read newspapers when it’s really crowded
Even More Uncoachable Stuff
- Seven Things That Truly Suck About Manhattan
- 5 Types of Public Transportation People That Really Get Under My Skin
- Subway Douchery Is One of the Best New Sites I’ve Seen
- Uncoached Business Ideas – Boring Inc, Subway Stewardesses
- Pictures of Stuff You Don’t Expect to See on the Subway
In Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), we just don’t have the 4th problem, because we have so few adapted buses for handicaped and so much unkind bus drivers that you would probably see the bus driver leaving the handicaped in the bus stop instead of helping the person to get on the bus!
Loud cell phone talkers are the worst of all. I don’t want to hear about explosive diarrhea or how your kid did the cutest thing the other day.
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the most annoying thing on the subways are the people that stand in front of the door when you are trying to get out. The only solution is to put on your crazy hat and scream as loud as you can when the doors open. They usually let me through.
[...] I have stated in the past, I’m not too big a fan of public transportation. In fact, for the most part I despise it. However, on rare occasion there are some moments where I [...]
You think PDAs are bad in NY? Try coming to Paris. It’s EVERYWHERE.
Mew York is such a special place. Nobody ever figured out that if it offends you, since you were not sentenced to be there by a court of law, you can actually move. We have so few of our freedoms left – go ahead and use one.
Clearly your glass is always a little less than half full.
Check out the bus system in STL, we are the worst system in the universe.
As for the whole not standing in the middle of the train. I like to be by the door because on our Metrolink, you only have about 10 or seconds to get off the train before the doors close and trying to get through a crowd of people takes too much time. One time I got separated from family because of it. So yeah, I am staying by the doors. But then again I am only on the train for a few stops anyways so it makes sense why I would over others.
As for the handicapped thing. I hear you on that one. What is the point of paratransit if the regular buses still have to pick up the handicapped?
Also, think about how many spots must be given up to retrofit a bus for the disabled.
I am not trying to be a jerk, but mainstreaming the handicapped onto the regular bus system is kind of a disservice to everyone involved including the handicapped person who should be taken directly from point a to point b without dealing with nearly being killed by maniacal traffic.