Metro safety complaints on the rise
Not the first time this has been reported, but complaints about metro safety have been rising since the pandemic, and although it’s mostly homeless people who are blamed here, interestingly one worker observes that nerves are on edge and scenes sometimes break out between “regular persons” too.
EmilyG 12:50 on 2024-07-08 Permalink
I wonder if it ever happens that someone will lash out at a fellow passenger who’s playing music or videos on their phone without headphones. I seem to have seen a rise in people playing videos without headphones and disturbing others with it.
It is against the transit rules to not use headphones for that, but a lot of people seem to not know that rule, or not care.
I don’t know what can be done about that.
Ian 14:18 on 2024-07-08 Permalink
https://youtu.be/Gr82dZpCr48?si=x09lIi50A_s0PuDv
Kate 14:32 on 2024-07-08 Permalink
Classic clip, Ian!
Blork 14:56 on 2024-07-08 Permalink
Yeah, so many people are oblivious to how their noise affects others (or simply don’t care). Like that time I was in a quiet hospital waiting room (waiting for news of someone in surgery) and this dufus was sitting there playing a shoot-em-up video game on his phone at full volume, adding stress to the other people who were already stressed with worry. Or the million times I’ve been in some other supposedly quiet place (e.g., hospital outpatient clinic treatment room) and some idiot is madly texting someone and every time he gets a text (twice a minute) his phone goes DING! so loud you can hear it three rooms away. After 40 DINGS you’d think he might realize it’s annoying to other people BUT NO!
Don’t get me started! (Too late!)
Major Annoyance 19:27 on 2024-07-08 Permalink
@EmilyG: Half the problem is that our oh-so-Canadian niceness makes us confrontation avoidant.
I take the Vaudreuil commuter trains on occasion. The upper floors of the double-decker cars are clearly marked “Etage Tranquille”. When some no-headphone douche decides to make a phone call or crank his ticktocks or whatever, I get up, walk over to their seat, and give them a loud “DO YOU MIND?” while pointing at one of the six or eight signs. Works every time.
As a society, we really need to work on calling out the assholes among us (circumstances permitting of course). Each time we don’t, we’re giving our implicit consent for this kind of behaviour.
Robert H 21:02 on 2024-07-08 Permalink
Kudos, Ian. That was immensely satisfying. And Blork, I can empathize with your frustration. I have ridden trains and busses in many cities and I can attest that the situations described in the article reflect the state of public transport in too many places across the continent. I suppose it’s inevitable that so many of society’s well known problems and conflicts would manifest among the crowds passing through the stations and on the vehicles. But beyond the more obvious examples of anti-social behaviour, I see a general decline in civility as well.
People have forgotten or perhaps were never taught the golden rule much less basic consideration for one’s fellow human being. I’m encouraged to see that complaints are getting through, but I wish more people would speak up immediately when they spot rudeness or worse. Easy for me as a six foot male in good enough shape to advise, but I do admit before asking someone to put out his cigarette or joint, speak more softly, or turn down his music, the question of whether I could best this person in a physical confrontation could influence how I proceed. Sometimes, it’s more prudent to simply change cars and complain later.
I’m disappointed these sorts of problems are occurring at a time when I’d like to see more people leaving their cars and choosing public transportation instead. But don’t be discouraged. these annoyances are still more the exception than the rule, and, as in so many aspects of urban life, Montreal is in better shape than many other places. If you think my glasses are too rose-coloured, try riding the subway in New York, or the “El” in Chicago.
Robert H 21:09 on 2024-07-08 Permalink
Bravo, EmilyG! That’s the spirit!
EmilyG 23:38 on 2024-07-08 Permalink
Blork – I really hate that DINGing noise as well. I think it’s a Facebook Messenger noise. I don’t know why too many people think it’s okay to leave it audible on their phones. I guess it gives their brain dopamine hits or something to hear that sound and realize they’ve gotten another message. Ugh. get your dopamine hits some other, non-intrusive way.
dhomas 05:49 on 2024-07-09 Permalink
I’m currently working from my company’s offices in Valencia, Spain. I can say that it’s not only an issue in North America. On a recent 15 minute bus ride, I saw:
– a woman standing at the absolute front of the bus, where it bottlenecks, so no passengers could get to the back of the bus without shoving past her and other passengers
– No one giving up their seat for a blind passenger (I got my son to get up for him)
– The person in the “priority” seat (the same bottlenecking woman as above, who had since sat down) not giving up their seat for a frail old woman who got on the bus. Luckily, someone further down the bus gave up their seat for her.
There is a lack of civility in some passengers, as if they were simply never taught “savoir-vivre”. But as said above, I think it’s a noticeable minority causing these issues. The problem is that, though they are still a minority, there are more of them then in the past.
Uatu 10:24 on 2024-07-09 Permalink
Cell phones have taught us to be so self absorbed that we forget what’s going on around us. Try walking around rush hour and it’s a constant blur of pedestrians with screens in front of their faces. And all of them expect for you to get out of their way. Has walking become so boring that you have to be distracted by a screen?
Tim S. 12:09 on 2024-07-09 Permalink
As long as this thread is here:
I was on the metro just now. Everyone acting normally until a guy suddenly jumps up and starts screaming, hard. Turns out the man sitting behind him, back to back, had a pet rat that crawled onto the guy’s back. Rat owner retrieves his pet, then starts lecturing the victim for over reacting, wagging his finger at him and repeating: “he’s not a monster.”
Guy eventually changes seats, though I’m surprised it took him as long as it did.
Kate 12:57 on 2024-07-09 Permalink
The rat owner was lucky to get his pet back in one piece. How could he be sure that a startled stranger wouldn’t take a hard swat at it?
jeather 15:22 on 2024-07-09 Permalink
I like (domesticated) rats, and they’re good pets, but I definitely don’t want anyone’s pet rat (or dog) on me in the metro. (Because I am a cliche, I would be fine with someone’s cat on me.)
CE 16:38 on 2024-07-09 Permalink
Re: the cell phone users walking on the street, if they’re walking (or biking) towards me while looking at their phones, I just let them run into me. It’s startled some people pretty bad but everyone has seemed to understand that they were at fault.
Chris 19:37 on 2024-07-09 Permalink
CE I do that too! Sometimes I’ll even pull out my own phone, pretend to be just as oblivious, and walk toward them.
GC 20:40 on 2024-07-09 Permalink
I’ve definitely walked into a few people who try to get inside a metro car before I can get off of it. That etiquette should be a no-brainer.