Light-rail etiquette tips?
OK, you Charlotte-area transplants from other cities with rail systems: I need your input.
The light-rail line through south Charlotte opens the weekend after Thanksgiving. There’s a group of Charlotteans out there who may be setting foot on a light-rail train for the first time. Given the volume of complaints I hear about Charlotte drivers, I imagine there will be a fair number of complaints about rail-riding etiquette.
For those with rail-riding experience, what are your tips? Hopefully most people will know the basics like “let everyone who’s getting off the train out before you try to go in the doors” and “for Pete’s sake, be careful when you’ve got your iPod on full blast.” But perhaps there are more subtle tips you can offer for avoiding annoying your fellow passengers and getting the most trouble-free ride possible.
(And for all you haters out there, this entry is not a referendum on the merits of light rail – you got your chance to weigh in on that during last week’s election. And it’s not a referendum on the merits of Charlotte, either. Please keep your comments on topic).
Personally, I’ve ridden trains in Washington DC, New York City, Chicago, Portland, London and Frankfurt. Each city's system had its own quirks. I’m eager to learn what Charlotte’s quirks will be, and how people will navigate them. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing your advice – and I hope to write an article for the paper, so e-mail me if you’re willing to be quoted by name!
The light-rail line through south Charlotte opens the weekend after Thanksgiving. There’s a group of Charlotteans out there who may be setting foot on a light-rail train for the first time. Given the volume of complaints I hear about Charlotte drivers, I imagine there will be a fair number of complaints about rail-riding etiquette.
For those with rail-riding experience, what are your tips? Hopefully most people will know the basics like “let everyone who’s getting off the train out before you try to go in the doors” and “for Pete’s sake, be careful when you’ve got your iPod on full blast.” But perhaps there are more subtle tips you can offer for avoiding annoying your fellow passengers and getting the most trouble-free ride possible.
(And for all you haters out there, this entry is not a referendum on the merits of light rail – you got your chance to weigh in on that during last week’s election. And it’s not a referendum on the merits of Charlotte, either. Please keep your comments on topic).
Personally, I’ve ridden trains in Washington DC, New York City, Chicago, Portland, London and Frankfurt. Each city's system had its own quirks. I’m eager to learn what Charlotte’s quirks will be, and how people will navigate them. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing your advice – and I hope to write an article for the paper, so e-mail me if you’re willing to be quoted by name!
posted by Leigh at
12:52 PM
47 Comments:
I just hope the train is on time so I can judge the best one for my transfer bus. The times I am looking at riding only give me a 5 minute leeway at arrival to catch the transfer bus.
They had better have it down otherwise it could add another 20 minutes to the commute if I miss the transfer bus and have to wait for the next.
They need more frequent transfer buses during the rush hours.
Every 10 minutes instead of 20.
Having lived near London and ridden the Tube a bunch of times, as well as having used the Metro in Paris several times, I can answer some etiquette questions. This is all mostly common sense.
The first thing to remember is not a point of etiquette, but an actual RULE from CATS: No food or drink is allowed on the trains. No coffee, no soda, no water, no bagels, no chips, none of that. Don't think that you are somehow special and therefore exempt from the rules and bring any of that stuff on. If you do, you can expect angry looks from your co-riders as the transit cop holds up the train to ask you to get off and discard that stuff outside.
Etiquette that's important:
Pay attention to when your stop is coming up, and be ready to exit. Nothing's worse than having the train held up because someone has half of the contents of their bag out on the seat and they're yelling for the train to wait a minute while they gather up their stuff. If this were Singapore or Tokyo, they wouldn't hesitate to start the train moving with you still inside. If you think missing getting ON the train is bad, wait until you try missing getting OFF the train at your stop.
No cursing.
No loud phone conversations.
If people are standing, don't bogart two seats when you only need one.
Let elderly people, the disabled, and parents with kids have seats if there are none available.
No littering. (See the rule above about no food or drink. In part, this is because there are no trash cans. Take your trash with you when you leave the train.)
Don't harass your fellow riders. Last thing anyone wants is another Bernie Goetz.
Oh, yeah. No weapons. Leave that stuff at home.
Theft prevention tip:
Ladies, keep your handbags/purses close to you and keep them zipped up. My mom had her wallet picked clean out of her purse in the Tube in London. When people are in close proximity to each other, it's easy for pickpockets to steal from you.
Hope this helps.
I used to ride the light rail from Hoboken, NJ to Jersey City, NJ each day. To another poster who said they hope the train is on time, you can forget about that (sorry to be blunt). All sorts of things tend to hold up the light rail (see below!), so dont depend on it being exactly on time. I used to miss lots of trains (big trains, not light rails) in NJ because the light rail ran late so I didnt get to the (other) train station on time to make my connection. Anyway my biggest pet peeves were:
1) As someone mentioned, people talking loudly on cell phones.
2) People who would sit on the end seat (on a two seat bench) and leave the window seat open, so if you wanted to sit there, you felt weird asking them to get up so you could slide in (and in NJ people usually rolled their eyes or acted annoyed if you asked them to get up so you could sit down).
3) There was also the problem of rowdy teens who would get on the light rail (obviously without paying) and goof off, roughhousing and such.
4) If the light rail is about to leave, DONT come running up and try to open the doors just as they are closing so that you can get on. This holds up the train, and is dangerous and unfair to everyone because they shouldnt have to wait for you.
5) If the light rail is pulling into the station and you are walking near the station, don't try to beat the train by jumping in front of it! I swear people would do this all the time in NJ, trying to get across the tracks so they could walk to other parts of the station. It was insane!
One big rule: Be considerate of others.
This rule is comprised of many smaller ones:
Talk quietly on your cell phone, or not at all.
Stay out of the way of the entry/exit doors.
Don't shove or brush people as you go by.
Don't bring food or drink that even has the possibility of a spill.
Don't take up more than one seat if you can avoid it.
Don't try to pull or hold open the doors.
Keep an eye on your things; in this day and age an abandoned package may be treated as a bomb.
People really do want to be comfortable, so try to look, sound and smell like you belong in public.
I agree with most of the tips except for food on the train. I grew up in NY and a bagel and coffee on cold mornings on the trains (#2, 2, 1 and D)was a joy. So it would be nice to have newspaper stands and coffe shops near stations. I can't wait for a University, North line.
BATHE.
As I said, the food and drink thing is not a point of etiquette, but an actual CATS rule. You just can't take food and drink on the train. Period. Personally, I think it's a mistake as some people just won't ride the train if they can't drink a coffee or a Coke (especially when it's particularly cold or hot). But theoretically it should help to keep the trains cleaner and keep costs down. Whether this was the right call remains to be seen.
The rail ride from beginning to end is only about 20 minutes, so it will hardly be enough time to eat or drink anything...
Great start though.
I was in Portland and in Houston when light rail started. In both places, there were lots of accidents with the trains, both pedestrian and automobile, until people got used to the light rail being there. It is surprisingly quiet. Leigh, could you somehow get the word out for everyone to watch out!
Guard rails would be helpful, especially at the 7th Station, I would hate for some kid to run on the tracks.
If everyone will exercise common sense and make an effort to be considerate of others, I believe that will just about cover it.
For what it's worth, the no-food/drink rule is mostly symbolic. Almost every public transit system has that rule and it's hardly ever enforced anywhere. It basically just gives the conductor the right to leave off people whose dining habits are disruptive.
And no radios either (unless you have headphones).
Only in NYC do I see food and drinks allowed on trains. Everywhere else, that is a no-no. That's not exactly a bad thing.
Yeah, I was gonna say that the Washington DC Metro enforces the no-food-or-drink policy VERY strictly. There was even a case a few years ago where a girl was arrested for putting a single French fry in her mouth while inside a Metro station.
No smoking.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I am a fan of No food or drinks on the train. The entire journey should not be that long, if we all follow the rules & do not hold up the trains. Think how clean the trains will be if they are food free.
See you guys next weekend.
This has been said before, but after living in Hong Kong and Boston, my biggest rail pet peeve is when people block the car entrances near stops. It blows my mind that people have that little awareness of others.
From the Code of Conduct that's posted on the buses is this one:
10. (Riders shall not) Excrete any bodily fluid upon or at another person on the vehicle.
Which seems civil enough. But it does leave open the possibility of opening a window and excreting on someone on the sidewalk.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I'm actually a native Charlottean living elsewhere, so I'm not exactly a newcomer. I have had a lot of experience on trains in several cities: DC, Boston, Mexico City, San Francisco, Barcelona -- and a busway in Leon, Mexico similar to the one proposed for the southeast line in Charlotte.
Right now I live in Chicago, and my biggest pet peeves are:
People who crowd around the doors on the train so it is impossible for others to get on -- even when there is plenty of room in the middle of the car. Trust me, you won't miss your stop, just make room.
People who aren't in a hurry blocking those who are. LYNX won't have a lot of stairs and escalators like the CTA, but please: whenever you are on stairs, or in a narrow walkway to the station, keep to the right so people in a hurry can pass on the left!
I think they should sell beer on the platform like the Long Island Rail Road...
or even margaritas.
don't sit on the edge of the platform with your feet hanging down late at night when you are waiting for the train. You will get ticket and they will think your trying to kill yourself.
THIS IS A PINEVILLE BOUND NUMBER 4 TRAIN, MAKING ALL LOCAL STOPS... THE NEXT STOP ON THIS TRAIN IS SOUTH BLVD. STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS PLEASE.........................
If you are a bum please don't sleep stretched out on 8 seats during rush hour....
If you are a bum don't get in people's faces and say wuhhreraahhhyahhhaksatkajaaa....
If you decide to shoot/stab someone please realize you will get locked in the train with all of its riders, laughing at your stupidity while the cops come....
If you blast your ipod/cd player/cell phone expect people to pluck it from your fingers and smash it....
So Leigh, how long do you think it will be before we see 'train shows'? You know - like kids break dancing followed by passing around a hat asking for money. Sometimes they are quite entertaining.
Will my metrocard work? I still have $ 8.00 on it.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I am all for the train. But it is actually going to take me close to 55 minutes to commute vs. my current
30 minutes on the express bus.
Oh well, hopefully it will be better for others.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
When you park your oversized SUV in the commuter lots, please park WITHIN the lines so you're not taking two spots.
Turn off your cell phone or keep your voice down. Otherwise, I'll be forced to use my jammer.
It's not just SUV's that do that. Any selfish boor who doesn't want to risk getting dings parks on the line.
I would glady ride the light rail if it was anywhere close to my house (in Gaston county). Oh, well...
Good point about the escalators... in Charlotte it is not understood that you stand to the right if you're not moving. I guess most of our escalators are in malls and corporate towers -- no subways here -- so there is less need to know the rule. But it is annoying to come back to Charlotte from other places and encounter people standing side-by-side on an escalator as if nobody is waiting behind them.
If you have to run, it's not your train.
As someone stated earlier, there's already a code of conduct for our public transportation system.
Of course, if the vast majority who profess to support public transportation actually USED public transportation, then this question would never have come up.
for goodness sakes...dont spit or put your gum under the chairs!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
In light of this weekend's overflow crowds: Don't shove onto an overfilled train! You will make the trip uncomfortable for everyone on the train -- including those 20 feet away who have to deal with the "domino" effect -- and will only save 15 minutes on your commute.
Unless you are in a terrible hurry, just wait for the next train and you'll have a comfortable, pleasant ride. If nothing else, you'll be the first one through the door!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home