Annoying passenger bingo

[quarella]

The "Music Train" thread with the mention of music from every seat via MP3 players/phone brought this to mind. There are things people do that annoy us on trains and I now find myself looking out for them. Here are a few of mine for starters

MP3 player/phone listened to through speakers.

MP3 player/phone listened to through headphones but it may as well be speakers

Viewing inappropriate content laptop/dvd player.

Bag/feet on seat on busy train. (If you want a quiet journey ask them to move it and sit next to them. You'll need to keep your coat on as it will be a bit frosty. Female students seem able to the iciest look)

 

[googolplex]

I find people who demand things to be quite annoying. I once encountered a young woman who pretty much said "we'll have to swap. I can't travel backwards" to the person sat opposite her, who she didn't know, despite her reservation being for a backwards facing seat.
Had she asked I wouldn't have a problem, but her tone and mannerisms suggested she thought she was entitled to it.

 

[Greenback]

My top 5 on train annoyances:

1. People going through their tedious and very loud selection of ring tones.
2. People who put their bags on the seat next to them.
3. People who let their children run up an down the train.
4. People who don't shower regularly.
5. People who jabber loudly and incessanty into their phones.

Finally, and it's only happend once, people who expect you to use another door simply because they are standing in the vestbule of a crowded train. After I lost my temper, and told them there was no way I was dragging my ****** heavy bag down the length of the carriage did they finally agree to step slightly to the left and allow me to get through.

 

[boing_uk]

My top five annoyances as a commuter are:

large suitcases left in the aisle

(ive picked up suitcases before now and put them on the table of the offending traveller)

people crowding the door on the platform before you even have a chance to get off the train

(a quick "do you want to let us get off first?" usually clears a mob)

people asking "is this the train to xxx" despite it being to "yyy" displayed on the train, the carriage door, the announcement and on the displays

(ive sent many a traveller on their way to "yyy" - personally I think they deserve it for wanting to be spoonfed by strangers)

people in a reserved seat who think that because they were there first, it is their seat.

predictably, people playing music out loud, from a mobile phone usually.

 

[SWT Driver]

Idiots who think the quiet coach means play music & shout on the ****ing phone coach.

 

[90019]

Idiots who think the quiet coach means play music & shout on the ****ing phone coach.

Those who think the quiet coach means every one else will be be quiet so they can talk away on their phones.

 

[CompactDstrxion]

Those who think the Quiet Coach means lets get all my mates in here round a table and talk loudly.

I had fun with such a group the other night, I waited for the TM to be in the right spot just behind the worst offender and then politely asked him to be quiet... after a few f*** offs etc he got a nice tap on the shoulder...

 

[Geezertronic]

people asking "is this the train to xxx" despite it being to "yyy" displayed on the train, the carriage door, the announcement and on the displays

(ive sent many a traveller on their way to "yyy" - personally I think they deserve it for wanting to be spoonfed by strangers)

I remember when Virgin started doing the non stop Birmingham New Street to London Euston morning service, they had a local news crew onboard and they interviewed a man who said he was unhappy because he wanted to get off at Coventry

Also, a couple of weeks back I overheard the Train Manager talking to an American who had got on the train at Coventry and throught the train was going North to Birmingham - unfortunately the train was going South to Euston so he had a bit of a problem

 

[Solent&Wessex]

I remember when Virgin started doing the non stop Birmingham New Street to London Euston morning service, they had a local news crew onboard and they interviewed a man who said he was unhappy because he wanted to get off at Coventry

Also, a couple of weeks back I overheard the Train Manager talking to an American who had got on the train at Coventry and throught the train was going North to Birmingham - unfortunately the train was going South to Euston so he had a bit of a problem

Some people are too stupid to help anyway. A few months ago one Sunday I was working a train from York to Liverpool. It was non stop from Leeds to Manchester Victoria. No Dewsbury, no Huddersfield - first stop Man Vic. It was announced on the station pa, it was on the platform monitors, and I must have announced it on board about 5 times before we left Leeds. Second person I came to had a ticket to Huddersfield. I said we don't stop at Hudd, did he not hear the announcement? He said he had, but ignored it as he thought I was wrong as, according to him, "all trains stop at Hudd". So there. You try and help and still they don't listen!

Anyway, my top annoyances are:

1. People who play their headphones so loud you can hear the noise over the engine under the floor. Are they deaf these people?

2=. People who think that "move down the train please" means shuffle their feet about 2 inches further, and don't actually move into the loads of empty space in the middle, thus not letting other folk get on.

2=. People who stand up when there are empty seats and then moan that the train is always full and they always have to stand.

3. Parents who give their annoying brats a huge packet of crisps, and then just watch and do nothing while the brat gets one crisp in his mouth and drops all the rest on the floor, thus ensuring the train looks like a bomb has hit it.

4. People who leave all their rubbish strewn all over the table / seats / floor when there is a perfectly good bin right nearby.

5. People who sit on their phones and tell someone on the other end that they will be late to the meeting / getting home / for lunch as "the train is running late again", when in fact the train is spot on time.
Tin

 

[David Pemberton]

I agree with pretty much everything everyone has mentioned above (especially the comments about the Quiet Coach), but I'd like to add:

1. Filing nails on the train
2. Applying make-up on the train

The first because I think it's a bit gross to abrade bits of yourself all over a public space, as bad as the nose-pickers who put their bogeys under the table or on the seat fabric.

The second because if I wanted to be surrounded by the oders of make-up I'd go to the WC and sniff glue.

By the way I've always wanted to say - "Wow, it looks like you put your make-up on whilst on the train." But I'm too polite.

As an aside, a great quote from Anne Widdecombe: "Why was it that Margaret Thatcher could get off a train at five in the morning looking like she'd just stepped out of a beauty salon, whereas I step out of a beauty salon looking like I've just got off a train at five in the morning!"

 

[HSTfan!!!]

passengers in general... lol shame it's my job haha,

main ones that annoy me in my daily work,

commuters standing on the edge of the platform with newspaper and or headphones in ears. - I'd rather see the length of my platform when trying to dispatch than todays metro/(insert newspaper name here) headline.

People who wait for someone to ask you a question, you answer them, then the person waiting asks the same question.

no matter how many doors there are on a train - everyone always queues for one, then looks at you strange when you ask them to use other doors - fine you cram in like sardines and arrive late, it's fine by me. (and then whinge that British Rail is always running late and how in so and so country it wouldn't happen - that's because in which ever country you are going on about - people have brains.

People who think they are entitled to use the wheelchair space for their pram/luggage, when I was younger, prams folded up?

This is just a handful, and it's always the minority who spoil it for everyone else

 

[robert2000]

well if people were not so slow at getting on a train and findin a seat, then trains wud not be late.

 

[Swift-Deere]

People who swear and shout obscenities on the train

Chavs on trains (anyone in a tracksuit should be banned from public transport

People who sleep on the tables

People who leave litter and old newspapers when they get of the train

 

[Helvellyn]

people crowding the door on the platform before you even have a chance to get off the train

(a quick "do you want to let us get off first?" usually clears a mob)

I prefer to say, "unless you let me off you can't get past me to get on, can you?"


I'll add passengers who think I can read a ticket through their hand, upside down or when it's flashed under my nose for a second before the ticket wallet is snapped shut. Inward sigh is followed by a polite request to allow me to read the ticket. In many cases I then have to explain it's part of my job to check it and that involves being able to see the date/ticket type/origin/destination/any railcard discount (delete as appropriate).

Or the ones who watch you checking tickets. They see you come into the coach. They watch you check tickets five seats away. Three seats away. The person opposite them. Then they are gobsmacked that I want to see their ticket! Cue bag ratching, pocket patting, etc.

 

[the sniper]

People who sleep on the tables

Is this common where you are?!

 

[Swift-Deere]

Is this common where you are?!

Ha Ha yeh honest on the 8:00 pendolino hordes of students are just lying asleep on the tables!!!

 

[krus_aragon]

As someone who often hauls a bike onto the train, I get slightly peeved at finding the cycle area filled with luggage (usually travellers to/from Ireland when I was in North Wales). Admittedly the 175s have labels saying 'this space may only be used for luggage when not required for bicycles', but few people notice the bloke with the bike when he comes on board and rearranges their suitcases trying to make space. I once had the odd experience of asking a mother to move her pram (and daughter) out of the bicycle 'closet' on a 158...

 

[the sniper]

Ha Ha yeh honest on the 8:00 pendolino hordes of students are just lying asleep on the tables!!!

Ha! I'll be on the look out for sleeping students from now on.

 

[350401]

My main pet hate is mothers/parents in general who bring their screaming babies/brats under the age of 5 into the Quiet Coach of a AXC/Virgin Train. I sit in the quiet coach so I can get some reading done or in general have a bit of peace and quiet without paying for 1st class. They seem to think that Quiet Coach = "Quiet place to bring my baby, hoping it will sleep as the coach is quiet, when in fact it won't and it will cry and annoy every passenger in the coach". And then they act offended/angry when you either evil them or point out politely that its the QUIET coach, and that there are tonnes of available seats elsewhere in the train, including a buggy space in Coach B designed for wheelchairs/baby buggies!

Another pet hate is parents who bring a young child into the Quiet Coach and the toddler proceeds to commend in awed tones at everything the train passes. Cute at first, but an hour into a 3hour journey it can get annoying! Maybe they should designate the Quiet Coach as "Quiet and No Under 10's Coach"

Another pet hate is of course commuters with ipod earphones that leak noise, which you can hear 3 rows away. Happens alot on the Crewe line. Bags on seats can be annoying too, but I must admit, when I've got alot of college reading to do, I will have my Lever Arch out and be reading it on the way to/from class. Though I'm usually on the 10.09 in and the 19.04 out so don't annoy too many people.

Final hate is people who bring buggies/Bikes into the vestibule areas of the 323's and complain there is no room, yet ignore that there is a designated bike/buggy area in the middle coach. A few guards do love shouting at lyrca-clad types to "use the middle coach" when s/he sees them approaching Coach A or C with clear intent to board there. Always brings a smile to my face

 

[asylumxl]

My main annoyances are:

Parents with under 5s who let them take up seats when the train is busy (Isnt part of the free travel terms for under 5s that they should be placed on your lap when the train is busy?)

People at London Bridge who crowd around the doors and even when asked won't move, and require barging.

People who get on aT St Albans, who do not ask you first, and force their way over you to open every window in sight when it's minus 2 outside.

OAP taking up entire coaches. Having to stand for 4 hours to Plymouth once. Wasn't very enjoyable stood in a vestibule for all that time.

 

[GodAtum]

Hi all,

If I have a cold I still have to travel. I hope I dont end up annoying people by blowing my nose and coughing (I always use a tissue).

Also, if the carriage is empty I put my bag on the seat but if it is full I always tuck it underneath.

People with too much luggage to handle themselves always annoys me. If they ask for my help I always say you should of packed with some common sense.

 

[37372]

The main things that annoy me are:

- People who travel alone that sit at a table. Ok if the train is pretty much empty it's no big deal but otherwise it's just annoying.

- The people who blast tinny music out of phones, or those that don't realise that their music is so loud it's blaring out of their earphones!

- People who just plonk themselves down next to me and don't have the courtesy to say "excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" I always ask first.

- Parents who can't keep their little troggs quiet and under control.

 

[yorksrob]

The main things that annoy me are:

- People who travel alone that sit at a table. Ok if the train is pretty much empty it's no big deal but otherwise it's just annoying.

- The people who blast tinny music out of phones, or those that don't realise that their music is so loud it's blaring out of their earphones!

- People who just plonk themselves down next to me and don't have the courtesy to say "excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" I always ask first.

- Parents who can't keep their little troggs quiet and under control.

Ah, I'm afraid I have to confess being a serial offender on the first point. Alas as a generally unattractive bugger who often finds himself travelling alone, I'm afraid I do usually prefer facing seats of possible as they offer more leg room and are less claustrophobic - and as so often on modern trains, the table seats are usually the only facing ones available. Also, the table is generally a lot more useful for food, drink, newspapers etc. That said, I'm not adverse to people joining me at the other three seats, however, I apologise in advance if we should end up on the same train as I'm very unlikely to change this preference

 

[Squaddie]

People who travel alone that sit at a table. Ok if the train is pretty much empty it's no big deal but otherwise it's just annoying.

Why shouldn't solo passengers use a table? They have just as much right to a table seat as anyone does, if they want one.

If a group of 3 or 4 people want seats round a table then they should reserve them.

 

[Vulcan]

I agree with Squaddie about people sitting on their own at tables. Theres nothing to stop you sharing their table, and some of us have legs that won't fit into the aircraft seating.

My annoyance are people that put their feet on the seats. Most times they know they are doing wrong and take them down when the conductor walks through, but put them straight back on the seats once they have gone. Wouldn't be the first time i've had chewing gum on my clothes because of these incosiderate people. :-x

The second most annoying type of people are those that insist on using those stupid, dangerous wheelie cases. I understand why they would be useful if they are particularly large or heavy, but most times they are smaller then my rucksack and bounce over bumps as though they are next to empty. At the top of stairs their users stop, in everyone's way, and fold the handle down, walk down stairs, stop again, handle up and resume. same when boarding and alighting trains :-x:-x:-x

Mobile phones and their users arn't too annoying, a fully charged ipod (used with consideration for others) sees to that!

 

[ukrob]

My annoyance are people that put their feet on the seats. Most times they know they are doing wrong and take them down when the conductor walks through, but put them straight back on the seats once they have gone. Wouldn't be the first time i've had chewing gum on my clothes because of these incosiderate people. :-x

And in my experience it is always people who should know better and would look down on chavs doing it.

 

[Vulcan]

And in my experience it is always people who should know better and would look down on chavs doing it.

Also people wearing really muddy shoes, or work boots.

My dad told me that today a pair of police officers came down the train today telling people to get their feet off the seats. good show!

 

[Lampshade]

I quite often have a laptop with me so I sometimes go for a table seat on my own. Last week I booked in advance on TPE but specified a single table seat in FC, so that it wouldn't affect other passengers who might have wanted a table (it proved pointless as the train didn't stop at Leeds, so I had FC to myself from Huddersfield to York). If travelling standard class sat at a table but not using a laptop, I'll happily move for a group of passengers who are travelling together.

 

[Dai.]

Most of my annoying moments on the trains have been the same as some of these, although I did once have to sit across from an old woman who thought she was the best person on this earth and couldn't talk normally, she decided everything needed to be shouted, could have rammed an apple down her throat just to shut her up.

 

[Jordy]

Passengers who wonder up and down an unreserved train looking for their reservation.