| Author |
Message |
    
thegoodsgt
Citizen
Username: Thegoodsgt
Post Number: 410
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 8:53 am: |     |
Rule LC1189-DM-2 (Proposed)
Those passengers who stand in the entryway or vestibule area during a commute (that is, those areas immediately between the two opposing doors of a car) shall be permitted to depart the train BEFORE those passengers who sit during said commute.
This rule shall go into effect at 6 a.m., March 29, 2004.
I think this is a small courtesy we can extend to those commuters who do not enjoy the comfort of a seat. |
mim
Citizen
Username: Mim
Post Number: 328
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 9:29 am: | |
Let's please extend this new rule to ALL standees, including those way down the aisles (which happens when the trains are crowded.) This actually was an unwritten rule on the PATH trains, when I took them, and I was shocked to see it didn't seem to apply on NJT. It really is quite depressing to have stood for 30-45 minutes, and then have to wait another 5 while politely letting others go first, who have been napping while you swayed in the aisle! |
SoOrLady
Citizen
Username: Soorlady
Post Number: 459
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 9:39 am: | |
My daughter-in-law's sister recently asked "what's up with people in Maplewood? Why do they push and run when they're getting off the train". Looks like that Penn Station thread doesn't just apply to Penn Station. |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1729
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 9:45 am: | |
Push and run getting off the train??
My rule: when you board you go to the inner most row of seats and then ask the outside person to stand so that you can sit in the middle seat. This way the commuters boarding behind you can get on the train faster. |
ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 105
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 10:20 am: | |
Another rule that shouldn't need to be stated: on an obviously crowded train, remove all your repulsive electronic gear, briefcases and duffle bags that you've strategically plopped down on the empty seat next to you, in hopes that some poor chump will stand instead of politely ask you to move it so he/she can sit, just like you. And don’t be annoyed if the person doesn’t thank you profusely. YOU are the one with the obligation to remove it, and YOU should apologize for taking up too much room. And do it IMMEDIATELY, instead of making someone stand in the aisle, holding up other passengers. One seat per passenger, you are not a VIP. The train is not your SUV. |
mfpark
Citizen
Username: Mfpark
Post Number: 243
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 12:37 pm: | |
And while you are at it, remove all of your newspapers, garbage, etc. when you leave the train. Who raised all these slobs who drop, stuff, and abandon papers and garbage all over the place? |
ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 107
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 2:20 pm: | |
Commuter trains bring out the worst in self-absorbed people and their behaviors:
1. leaving their garbage behind for others to deal with.
2. shrieking loudly on their cellphones about absolutely nothing. This may be a form of exhibitionism.
3. Preferring their electronic appliances, briefcases and various bags have a seat instead of another person.
4. Scurrying like rodents over people to get their prissy little window or aisle seats.
5. Eating junk food loudly (and often with their mouths open) on crowded trains.
Fortunately, most people aren't like this.
|
bobk
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 5013
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 2:31 pm: | |
I saw a guy this morning who has an answer to the noise problem. He wears earplugs. I noticed them in his ears and wasn't sure what they were. Just before we arrived at Hoboken he carefully took them out and put them in a little container.  |
ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 108
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 2:44 pm: | |
Poor guy shouldn't be reduced to that. My strategy -- with a particularly loud yakker -- is to start contributing to the conversation with witty asides and commentary. If they're blabbing at me, I assume they want me to be a participant. |
thegoodsgt
Citizen
Username: Thegoodsgt
Post Number: 411
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 4:28 pm: | |
Maybe we should document these rules in a friendly, easy-to-read format (I'm a technical writer so I'm always thinking about communication strategies) and leave them on the train for others to find.
I'm half joking, but I think I like the idea! |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 2601
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 5:24 pm: | |
Thegoodsgt:
I like your idea but not the method of delivery. Those hand outs sound too much like the multitude of junk which ends up crumpled on the floor, especially in the aisles. Instead, I would suggest a few snappy posters that could be prominently displayed in the cars.
Another idea: get the electronic displays in the newer ars to display brief messages of good conduct requirements instead of the incorrect next station announcements that most of them display. |
Starr
Citizen
Username: Starr
Post Number: 27
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 6:38 pm: | |
Of course I agree that people should remove their garbage when they exit the train at Penn Station or Hoboken. However, when going outbound, I don't mind if people leave their newspapers on the seat for others to read. A lot of people like finding newspapers on the train. I love finding a New York Post, for example. |
tom
Citizen
Username: Tom
Post Number: 2258
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 7:34 pm: | |
I wish that on off-hours there were a way to concentrate cellphone users and people who want a quiet ride. Some evenings I'm on the 10:40 train, and even though there are lots of seats there is nowhere you can go to be away from these people. I've moved several times on a ride, but they are everywhere! |
Habanero2
Citizen
Username: Habanero2
Post Number: 46
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 7:45 pm: | |
Why are people in such a rush to get off the train, especially in Maplewood. Where are you going? There are no connecting flights here, relax. If you are last off or first off the difference is maybe 2 minutes. Chill out everyone.
I also can not understand why people begin cueing up to get off in Penn or Hoboken as soon as the train reaches the tunnel. I often have the person on the inside of a three seater ask me to get up to let them out in Penn before the train stops.
"You kids today have it easy. When I was a kid everything was HUGE. My dad was nearly four times bigger than me. You couldn't even see the tops of counters.... Then gradually everything became smaller until it was the manageable size it is today." |
papayagirl
Citizen
Username: Papayagirl
Post Number: 181
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 9:10 pm: | |
algebra hit on my #1 commuting pet peeve. it seems like every morning, the person boarding in front of me asks to sit in the very first middle seat s/he sees right by the door, leaving all of us waiting for the person sitting on the aisle to get up, do their dance, etc. while the rest of the middle seats in the car get taken by people boarding from the next car up. every. single. morning. |
marian
Citizen
Username: Marian
Post Number: 154
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 9:46 pm: | |
thegoodsgt,
Around '97 or '98, NJT did distribute these little cards with different pieces of polite train behavior advice on them. One card was called "Loud Guy." I kept it in my bag for years, always thinking that I'd drop it in the lap of some idiot yapping away on his/her cell phone.
Alas...I never had the nerve. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 140
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 8:22 am: | |
Habernero2 - If I'm rushing off the train in Maplewood, it's to make sure I get on the Jitney - I've seen them leave before everyone has even made it up the stairs after getting off the train. It's ridiculous. I also wear earplugs from time to time on the train, but it's to keep from going deaf from their horrible PA system -- it screeches to the point I swear one of these days someone's ears will start bleeding from the noise. |
lah
Citizen
Username: Lah
Post Number: 202
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 8:23 am: | |
When the train is late, I know that jitney riders often rush off to make the jitney. I think Hoboken trains are more affected than the midtown trains on this score. |
bobk
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 5017
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 8:37 am: | |
Hab, the quicker people get off the train, the quicker it gets going and the quicker it makes it to the next stop.
One of the interesting "cultural" differences between Hoboken and MidTown riders is that on the Hoboken line people get up and line up to bail out before the train arrives at the station. While many people on MTD trains don't even put their coats on until the train stops. |
papayagirl
Citizen
Username: Papayagirl
Post Number: 183
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 9:27 am: | |
The jitneys indeed do not wait if the trains are late, but a few weeks ago, the train came in on time, and i was on the very first car. By the time i walked across the platform and got to the station, all i (and two others on my same jitney route) saw were the tail lights of the jitney pulling away. As suspected, pointing it out to the driver when he returned from his route 20 minutes later was futile. So you bet i'm gonna hustle a little bit to get out the door nowadays.
Furthermore, virtually the only place where i can get a seat next to my husband on the way into ny in the morning is by sitting in the very last car. Once we get off the train at Penn, there's a good 5 minute wait on a very cold platform just to get up to a stairway so i can get out. It sucks to choose to live in a town because the train commute is 30 minutes, then have another 10 minutes tacked on just to navigate out of the train station. So that's one reason why people may queue up at the doors while they're still in the tunnel. Most people don't do it just for kicks. |
snshirsch
Citizen
Username: Snshirsch
Post Number: 127
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 9:31 am: | |
I thought it was against NJTransit's rules (and perhaps NJ Law) to stand in between the cars. I realize that at times, when very crowded they don't uphold this rule, but none the less I believe it exists.
Also, I don't understand how someone sitting inside the car could possibly get out of the train before someone standing in the vestibule, which is right at the steps. Can someone explain this? |
ril
Citizen
Username: Ril
Post Number: 205
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 9:44 am: | |
Perhaps the vestibule referred to is the one in the middle of the car, where the doors do not open. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 2603
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 4:53 pm: | |
snhirsh:
The people standing in the vestibules on Midtown Direct trains are standing in the space in front of the center doors which don't open at most stations. These people after standing the entire way home have to wait for at least half the passengers, most of whom have found seats, to exit the train before they can get off.
The problem does not exist going into Penn Station, where the center doors will open, though maybe not on the side where you have been standing, but remains for Hoboken trains using these cars because once again the center doors will not open.
Hope this clarifies things. |
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