The Public Transport Society

I've noticed recently that i lose my temper most when i'm out of my house and out of my workplace. Of all places, i always blow my top when i'm either waiting for a bus/train or riding on a bus/train. OK, haha..i admit that i don't have the best temper in the world ( it's my genes dammit!.... my family members all have fiery personalities =P), but being in a public transport really tests your patience.

OK, so who am I to complain... i can't drive and i don't have the money to sustain a car... hehe... I did learn to drive and managed to drive a couple of times before my mother concluded that it's too dangerous to ride in my car ( I don't brake when cornering a'la F1 driver).

So, what are the ugly society behaviours that make the public transportation here so unpleasant, leaving me hot and flustered? Let me count the ways :


1) When i board a bus, a same pattern is observed over and over again. Two seats will be taken by one person who chooses to sit on the aisle seat rather than the window seat. For example, you board a bus with 40 seats and you see 20 people sitting on the aisle seat. You have no choice but to look really apologetic to one of them and then try to squeeze into a window seat beside them. This happens without them moving a inch to let you in, sometimes throwing an icy cold stare at you.
Puffyrazzi's suggestion : Sit on their lap

2) Almost similar to point 1, except that this time their outer seat is occupied by their bag or grocery bags. Excuse me, but did your bag pay for the bus fare too?
Puffyrazzi's suggestion : Similar to point 1. Sit on their bags

3) I board a very crowded train on weekends. Most of the people are standing and there you see a selfish SOB leaning his big fat body on the supporting hand rail, looking oblivious to all the people around him that are swaying from left to right without support.
Puffyrazzi's suggestion : Since you're making your body part of the rail, i'll assume you're a rail. I'll hang on to your body parts then.

4) You wait for a train at the station. Just when the train is pulling in, all the people around you jostle to the front of the MRT door, blocking people who are coming out and squeezing in to get a seat. I'm pretty used to this scenario, it even happens during off-peak hours. Even a 70-year-old aunty can beat me at this =)
Puffyrazzi's suggestion : If you can't beat them, join them! Anyway, i've witnessed an angry woman actually shouting at the selfish bastards to move out of the way of alighting passengers.

5) Be it bus or train, the passengers prefer to stand near the doors so as to be the first to disembark. Seats furthest from the door are normally ignored. Therefore you see a bunch of loonies standing near the entrance/exit, depriving others of getting onto the bus/train.
Puffyrazzi's suggestion : This is not a good suggestion, but i somehow hope that someday, an accident will occur where the door opens during travel and people start to realise maybe standing at the door is not such a good idea after all.

And to summarise the point of this post, YES KIASUISM STILL PREVAILS.... but i admit i sometimes am also guilty of more than one of the above...heehee...kiasuism is beginning to rub on me.... arrrggh...helpzzz!