Woes of the Metro Rider
Well this morning I experienced the trifecta of annoyances on the metro coming to work. I'm not a morning person, admittedly, and I am never in a pleasant mood when commuting to work in the morning. I find that a good percentage of metro riders are unnecessarily and often times deliberately rude and annoying.
Metro Offender #1: Picture it, I board the train and stand through several stops until we reach Metro Center where a good portion of the train departs, making several seats available for the passengers left on the train. I take a seat, which I rarely do as there are plenty available. I don't like to sit because you never know who is going to choose to sit beside you. And often times, as was the case this morning, you get some annoying person beside you who is either large and in charge of the entire seat or is lacking in personal hygiene or even worse, the one I had today. A cute and seemingly quiet Asian girl who immediately got on the phone with what must have been her boyfriend yammering away in whatever language she speaks very loudly. I rolled my eyes and kept flipping through my Express. Then the icing on the cake was directly across from us on the advertisement spot that runs along the ceiling of the car was a sign that said keep your phone conversations to yourself. While technically she was doing that since I did not have a clue what she was saying, she certainly didn't keep it quiet.
Metro Offender(s) #2 - #10: Everyone knows that you don't stand in front of the doors when the train arrives at your station because, particularly in rush hour, people will need to exit this train and if you are obstructing said exit, you hold up the process and annoy all parties involved. Well this morning everyone at the station where I work was attempting to be courteous by backing away from the door. The issue was they failed to determine where they were in relation to the exit for the station and they all crowded in a nice big semi-circle blocking me from walking off the train and towards the escalators so I still had to break through the crowd to get to the escalator. People, listen up...backing up a foot from the door is not enough. Think about where you are in relation to the rest of the station. Backing up a foot only means I have to travel another foot before I knock you out of my damned way. If there is only one exit, stand on the opposite side of the door when the train pulls up from that exit so departing passengers can walk out without having to look at you. Please. The train isn't going to leave without you and by the time I get off of it, there are plenty of seats available for you to grab away from the elderly or infirm.
Metro Offender #11 - #12: Grandmother and granddaughter decided to treat themselves this morning with a lovely trip to one of DC's many prominent attractions, which so happens to be at the same metro stop as my place of employment. Well as with most tourists, they have no clue how to use an escalator. Granddaughter keeps climbing the steps and stopping when she gets too far ahead of grandma. Grandma is yelling at her to slow down and to hold on, because clearly at any moment the escalator is going to lurch and throw the granddaughter down the steps to her demise. Grandma, taking her own advice, clutches the railing. Unfortunately it's the railing on the left, thereby between the two of them, blocking my and every other person's ability to walk up the steps. Normally if the escalator was going down, this would really annoy me. However this morning, with all I had been through already and with the zero caffeine consumption I was going on, I gladly perched behind Ma-maw and little Cindy Hoo and had the magic of technology take me to sea level. I bet your sweet ass when they are heading back down to the metro on their way home, they commit the same offense and they had best hope they are out of this neighborhood long before 6pm when I'm balling out of this dump.
There you have it - the Trifecta. Loud girl bitching at boyfriend on cell phone at 8am in a language unfamiliar to everyone. Groups of idiots blocking the departure of all passengers from the train. Sweatpants granny and her illegitimate granddaughter blocking the entire escalator out of fear they will fall to their deaths if they move.
Dear Dan Tangherlini with WMATA. You have solicited questions and suggestions. How about you start by posting these rules somewhere on some big sign at the entrance to the metro that says don't block the train doors or the escalators and require that people stay off their phones. That way it is not just courtesy, but a rule. Then when I knock people down, I don't feel guilty about it later when I'm sober or caffeinated.
Metro Offender #1: Picture it, I board the train and stand through several stops until we reach Metro Center where a good portion of the train departs, making several seats available for the passengers left on the train. I take a seat, which I rarely do as there are plenty available. I don't like to sit because you never know who is going to choose to sit beside you. And often times, as was the case this morning, you get some annoying person beside you who is either large and in charge of the entire seat or is lacking in personal hygiene or even worse, the one I had today. A cute and seemingly quiet Asian girl who immediately got on the phone with what must have been her boyfriend yammering away in whatever language she speaks very loudly. I rolled my eyes and kept flipping through my Express. Then the icing on the cake was directly across from us on the advertisement spot that runs along the ceiling of the car was a sign that said keep your phone conversations to yourself. While technically she was doing that since I did not have a clue what she was saying, she certainly didn't keep it quiet.
Metro Offender(s) #2 - #10: Everyone knows that you don't stand in front of the doors when the train arrives at your station because, particularly in rush hour, people will need to exit this train and if you are obstructing said exit, you hold up the process and annoy all parties involved. Well this morning everyone at the station where I work was attempting to be courteous by backing away from the door. The issue was they failed to determine where they were in relation to the exit for the station and they all crowded in a nice big semi-circle blocking me from walking off the train and towards the escalators so I still had to break through the crowd to get to the escalator. People, listen up...backing up a foot from the door is not enough. Think about where you are in relation to the rest of the station. Backing up a foot only means I have to travel another foot before I knock you out of my damned way. If there is only one exit, stand on the opposite side of the door when the train pulls up from that exit so departing passengers can walk out without having to look at you. Please. The train isn't going to leave without you and by the time I get off of it, there are plenty of seats available for you to grab away from the elderly or infirm.
Metro Offender #11 - #12: Grandmother and granddaughter decided to treat themselves this morning with a lovely trip to one of DC's many prominent attractions, which so happens to be at the same metro stop as my place of employment. Well as with most tourists, they have no clue how to use an escalator. Granddaughter keeps climbing the steps and stopping when she gets too far ahead of grandma. Grandma is yelling at her to slow down and to hold on, because clearly at any moment the escalator is going to lurch and throw the granddaughter down the steps to her demise. Grandma, taking her own advice, clutches the railing. Unfortunately it's the railing on the left, thereby between the two of them, blocking my and every other person's ability to walk up the steps. Normally if the escalator was going down, this would really annoy me. However this morning, with all I had been through already and with the zero caffeine consumption I was going on, I gladly perched behind Ma-maw and little Cindy Hoo and had the magic of technology take me to sea level. I bet your sweet ass when they are heading back down to the metro on their way home, they commit the same offense and they had best hope they are out of this neighborhood long before 6pm when I'm balling out of this dump.
There you have it - the Trifecta. Loud girl bitching at boyfriend on cell phone at 8am in a language unfamiliar to everyone. Groups of idiots blocking the departure of all passengers from the train. Sweatpants granny and her illegitimate granddaughter blocking the entire escalator out of fear they will fall to their deaths if they move.
Dear Dan Tangherlini with WMATA. You have solicited questions and suggestions. How about you start by posting these rules somewhere on some big sign at the entrance to the metro that says don't block the train doors or the escalators and require that people stay off their phones. That way it is not just courtesy, but a rule. Then when I knock people down, I don't feel guilty about it later when I'm sober or caffeinated.
posted by Carrie Broadshoulders at Tuesday, November 14, 2006
3 Comments:
i definitely don't mean to laugh at your misfortune today, but this was a good read as i can most definitely relate to these situations.
ESPECIALLY the escalator situation.
i've taken to walking to work over the past few months, since i discovered that it is going to be 25 minutes walking, bussing, or metroing.
will you be able to walk to your employer once you move?
Some lady better be thankful that metro weekly watch is no longer in existance hahaha.
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