"I suppose there are people who can pass up free guacamole, but they're either allergic to avocado or too joyless to live."— Frank Bruni

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

'get off the bus then split'

OMG. This article explains one of my biggest pet peeves! I love it when my day-to-day rants are vindicated...I wish there was a comment section for this article - I'd be all over it. The problem of not deboarding a bus through the rear door isn't just endemic to New York, but perhaps the entire eastern seaboard. Riding Metrobus exposes me to this transit faux-pas everyday. Why are people so amazingly stupid that they don't realize exiting through the back saves everyone time, no matter when they have to get off the bus? And why the hell do people board and exit so   s    l    o   w   l   y?

(photo cred: Suzanne DeChillo/NYTimes)

MTA's solution to the problem was introducing an additional door. What a stupid idea. Unless the bus is on fire or there was some other cause for a mass evacuation, that middle door isn't going to alleviate much. The simple solution is to have drivers (oh, excuse me, bus operators) enforce the rule of board through the front, exit through the back. If they would just tell people to exit through the back, especially when there are  people waiting to board, the problem is solved. (Would it be too much to ask the drivers to use their discretion when it comes to the elderly or disabled?) I've experienced this type of enforcement, both while exiting and boarding, and appreciated it. It just makes common sense; riding the ever-crowded 30 Stockton taught me this early in life. The article puts a lot of emphasis on having to shout "back door!" which I've had to do on occasion - it's really not that big of a deal. I still exit through the back every single time (twice a day) because it makes sense.

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