Running

I realize in this society everyone needs to get somewhere quickly, myself included.  We all have our ways of shortening our trip, from taking physical shortcuts through town to having our farecards out and ready to go when we get to the turnstyle.  There is one time-saving action that doesn't sit well with others: running through the station to catch your train.  While you may cause the occasional chuckle as you jog by, coattails flying, briefcase in hand, the riders you've shoved out of your way in the process don't appreciate your style.  Running down escalators, through stations, practically jumping over the faregate when it takes a millisecond to open, and then sprinting full speed onto the platform to catch the train is not an acceptable behavior.  Everyone's trying to get somewhere and we don't appreciate your gymnastics because you think your schedule is so much more important than ours.  You know there's another train coming, right?  The message board on the platform is there for a reason.  Please again remember that respecting your fellow passengers will go a long way.

There is, however, one time that I think it's perfectly acceptable to break the rules and run through the station: to catch the last train of the night.  Most times you can expect another train to come along if your timing isn't quite right when you arrive at the station.  The last train of the night is a different story.  Rather than be stranded in a part of town you'd rather not spend the night, I'll turn the other way as you sprint for your train.  I wouldn't want to get stuck at the end of the night either.


Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samirluther/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Hanging on

One of the inevitable necessities of riding the metro is needing to hang on to the pole at some point.  A large number of cars have floor-to-ceiling poles near the doors at either end.  These simple objects can be a source of quite a lot of metro etiquette issues.  Today we'll cover some of the most often observed ones.

The Pole-Hugger
Believe it or not, those poles need to be used by several people at the same time.  Wrapping your body around the pole will either prevent others from sharing in the usefullness of the pole, or it will result in a stranger's pole-using hands awkwardly rubbing against your pole-hugging body.  When there aren't many people standing on the train, it's fine to lean against it.  But the rule I like to follow is that once there are 3-4 people standing (maybe 3 are leaning against walls) it's time to relinquish exclusive use of the pole.  For those who squeeze between riders only to find a pole-hugger, it's fine to say excuse me before grabbing the pole.  Pole-huggers may be so absorbed in their books or phones that they don't realize the crowd of people crushing around them may also need to use the pole.  Plus others will appreciate you, even mentally cheer you, for freeing a small space to hang on.