Nobody likes to ride The Bus. You have to deal with long rides, stopping and going, alternative routes and people.
Yes, people can be the most annoying thing about riding the bus, and you are either the one who is getting annoyed or being annoying. You can either be aware or oblivious to your behavior on the bus but just in case here is a list of things that people need to be mindful of when riding the bus.
1. Move to the back and take a seat if there’s one available. When the bus starts to get filled up, for some reason, nobody likes to go to the back and people get clogged up in the front of the bus. This usually makes the bus driver think that the bus is full and stop others from coming in. You have to try and make room for more people in the bus because they have places to go and are on a schedule too.
2. Seats are for butts. Don’t be a jerk and leave your bags on a free seat next to you. Some people have far destinations to reach or have been working all day. Depriving them from a seat is very selfish and rude. If there is a free window seat next to you, and you don’t want to move in, stand up and gesture the seat to a fellow rider so he or she knows they can get in there.
3. Save it for the hotel room. I have witnessed grown college students sucking on each other’s faces in front of elderly women on the bus. And I am sad to say they were Chaminade students. Slurping and smacking sounds mixed in with groping is enough to make anyone feel uncomfortable to witness from afar, why do it in a small closed space like a bus full of people?
4. Keep it a secret. Loud conversations and laughter can be just a tad bit annoying but people can easily ignore that. But if you what you’re talking about is rude and obnoxious details about what happened behind closed doors, well, there’s a reason why it happened behind closed doors. Nobody wants to hear who did who and how because it’s quite disturbing to the listening public.
5. Give up your seat for the older folks. This shouldn’t need much explaining, but if there’s a fragile old man or woman struggling to hold on to a handle on the bus, just get up and give up your seat.
6. Don’t block the door. For some reason, people flock to the door when there are no seats. Unless you’re getting off at the next stop, try to avoid huddling in front of the exit doors and make it difficult for people to maneuver around you to get out.
Most of these are common sense, but the truth is, sometimes we students forget to be mindful of our surroundings and how we behave in public.
The next time you’re riding the bus, keep this information in handy so that you’re not a total nuisance to the bus riding population.