Bus Departure Time: 7:03
Bus Arrival Time: 7:18
T Departure Time: 7:19
T Arrival Time: 7:40
Weather as I call it: Partly cloudy, high 70s
Level of commute annoyance (scale of 1 to 10): 2
Feared for my life: No
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Here's something I have seen many times on the T, but I saw it twice today
so I thought I would comment on it now that it is fresh in my mind.
Why do people put their bags down on the seat next to them on the T? Are they saving
the seat for the first person that comes by and asks them to move the bag so they can
sit down? Isn't it a rule to keep all your stuff within the invisible borders of the seat you are sitting on?
To be fair, I don't think most of these people are selfish seat-hoarders. From what I have witnessed, people will get on an empty car with plenty of seats and they will put their bag on the empty seat next to them. It's no big deal because of the aforementioned abundance of seats. It only becomes a problem later on when there is a stop with a large number of people entering the train and seats become a scarce commodity.
I'm not preaching, I'm teaching. If you don't want to look like a jerk, keep your bag with you while riding the T. Keep it on your lap so people can sit next to you if they wish.
2 comments:
Funny enough... Taking up more than one seat on a New York Subway train is illegal. And if you get caught doing it, they will give you a ticket.
There was a case once on my train where a pregnant woman put her bag on the seat next to her. The train wasn't crowded. But the undercover subway cop gave her the $50 ticket because it is against the law to do that.
NYC subways show no mercy. Not even to the pregnant. And to be honest, they shouldn't. Because no one should be entitled.
Okay, so NYC is more than a little crazy then. If Boston somehow got undercover subway cops (or not undercover subway cops, for that matter) I'd hope they have better things to do than ticket people on uncrowded trains. Like, say, ticketing smokers.
I'd make this suggestion, though, for bag holders. Don't simply wait until yours is the last empty seat on the train. That's rude and self-important. Leave your bag next to you, but the when it gets to the point that every empty seat is next to a passenger, you have to put the bag on your lap. It doesn't matter if someone could sit elsewhere. They have a right to sit where they please. Your bag doesn't.
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