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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
Not in Seattle. Here we're a city of introverts.
I can't help but laugh at the people who will stand all the way from CC to Westlake so someone's knapsack can ride comfortably on a seat (and they are too timid to say anything).
Indeed, I agree with you. However, I would qualify that any single passenger that takes up 2 or more seats on a train or bus hasn't "evolved" socially. Public transit necessarily shares space. One human per seat. I don't like it when people place their legs/feet on a seat as well. It's extraordinary how some passengers take up so much space.
I've seen people with multiple bags/boxes easily take up two or more(!) seats. And, not yield to another passenger. It's most uncivilized. Lack of social intelligence afflicts ALL types of humans. It isn't just people going to and fro the airport with luggage.
Just tell people to please move their stuff.
Perhaps a similar policy is in order for large bags? Dogs aren't allowed to even sit on the seat.
when there's no other seats I bet the dude moves his shit unprompted.
don't get hysterical.
I rarely post comments complaining about a Slog entry, but this one is ridiculous.
Seems to me a higher socially developed mind would think it better to simply speak to other people.
You need a seat, ask for it. People only do this because they're oblivious or because they know everyone's too pussy to ask anyways.
Lets say nothing, creepily take pictures of complete strangers, and complain when it's too late to change anything!!
Over the years, however, it's become clear to me that some people are by their nature completely comfortable imposing on others. I suspect that for some, the area of their brain responsible for modeling the perspectives of other people is underdeveloped. For others, they know very well what they are doing but can choose not to give a fuck. That tends to be a winning strategy in many areas of life, so by a strict Darwinian definition, you could argue that they are the ones who are more "evolved".
The airport is at the end of the line. When people board there, the train is always completely empty. But it's not going to stay that way (it did in bygone times, but not anymore).
One very simple way to mitigate the airport baggage problem would be to install overhead luggage racks, so the air travelers have an immediate visual cue to get all their crap out of other people's way.
I'm guessing Link doesn't want the liability.
As it is, people are supposed to put those big wheelie bags under the seats. But nobody knows that, and I've never seen a single passenger actually stow their bag there.
Jesus Christ, Mudede, learn the most basic things about what you write about. It does that EVERY YEAR because demand has a strong seasonal component. The most relevant comparison point is always the previous year's same month. Using that metric, Link ridership has been increasing 10-15% a year for a few years now. There has only been flattening or dropping if you don't know how to measure transit ridership.
People in SF do this all the time."I'm going to leave my huge backpack on my back on the crowded Muni Metro train at rush hour instead of putting it on the floor where it belongs. Because I'm more important than you" is an all too common thing.
I was never shy about saying to those people "Please put that on the floor, you've hit me in the face with it four times since Civic Center. Thanks." Then give them your best Disappointed Dad face.
it's why their bags take up three seats. it's why they look like you punched their dead grandmother when you question why they brought their dog into a supermarket and why when driving they sometimes just stop in the middle of the street for no reason at all.
this is not the problem. this is a metaphor for the problem.
I have no problem sitting next to someone out of necessity, but I don't want a bus buddy. Keeping a bag next to you when there are plenty of available options is a good defense mechanism against creepers or the socially oblivious.
Do you also feel that no one should attempt to curb their carbon emissions because the actions of one person does not solve the problem completely? Or perhaps you feel that no one should give to charity since no problem can be solved with just that one person's donation.
But you shouldn't make people ask you to move your bag. Once things start to get more crowded it's time to restrict yourself to one seat.
The root of your complaint is that there are many people sharing a public space that need to work together for mutual benefit. So first by doing nothing, you become the problem by letting it fester. Think about it.
Secondly, don't you think that by setting the example of speaking up, you would encourage others who are too shy to do the same? Or to simply call attention to the others on the bus who are acting inappropriately? Think about it.
Finally, if your complaint is that an expectation that you "work through all of them one at a time" - a complaint that you disingenuously made up out of whole cloth - why bother making this post? You don't seriously believe that everyone reads what you write, do you?
Think about it. And next time quit being such a fucking creeper and talk to people rather than take pictures of them and posting them to this site without permission.
I know that Light Rail is limited but, there's nothing wrong with complaining to a driver and if there's a transit person doing a ride along they can always enforce the policy (of being a decent human being). I've seen transit workers do it on Sound Transit buses.
That said, there really is no good way to confront someone using a seat this way when it's not SRO. The only person with the cache is the one who needs the seat. Frankly, complaing about this when seats are available is petty. (Unless there are luggage racks - I've had no opportunity to ride the Link myself, so I don't know if one is provided or not, but the comments make it sound like they don't.)
while seattle does have its share of introverts, this move - both using the extra seats like they are yours AND the creepy posting of a picture designed to shame folks instead of trying to solve the problem - is ALL passive aggressivity and not introversion in the least...
Women tend not to have as much free space.
Originally this is why men were supposed to give up their seats ...
http://peopleonthetube.tumblr.com/ has some examples.
But frankly the silliness that is https://www.facebook.com/stickersonthece… more than makes up for it.
First of all, Parks didn't sit at the fucking front of the bus. She was ordered to move, even though she was sitting in the "colored" section, to make way for white passengers.
Second, the response to her civil disobedience was massive political protest, boycotts, and direct action. By using this analogy, are you suggesting transit riders organize a mass protest to drive away entitled assholes who take up multiple seats? Does that sound like a rational response to you?
If the bus/train is full and there are seats being taken up by luggage, I don't hesitate to ask people to move their stuff. I do it nicely, and no one has ever refused.
Also, many seats have space UNDER the seats, as @23 noted. That's where the highly evolved people stash their crap.
In Seattle, if a person is taking up a seat in a crowded bus, just ease yourself in and say "pardon me". People here will wake up from their self involved stupor and cooperate.
Not in Seattle. Here we're a city of introverts."
That, is what those of us who live in NYC call BULLSHIT.
I see this crap on busses and trains every time I ride. Yes, you should say something. But there's nothing wrong with passively-aggressively reminding folks to be considerate. I'm no Pollyanna, but I refuse to believe that every single person doing it is an asshole.
And by the same token--they MIGHT be an asshole. And I think some folks just do the math--do I stand for five minutes or possibly listen to someone bitch and moan for five minutes that you asked them to move their bag.
In related news--this is what gets a dozen people's knickers in a snitch? A guy complaining about people being rude.
You're not as polite and introverted as you'd like to think. But you've really got the sweeping generalizations thing down pat.
SO--backpack on the open seat? Let it slide. I mean, who cares? If you really need to to sit, say to the offender, "Hey, I need to sit. Could you move that?" They're most likely just clueless about the situation, and nine times out of ten they'll just meekly apologize and move their hunk of shit so you can sit down. If they snarl and get angry, just move the fuck on. It's really not worth picking a fight with someone that crazy--did I mention that some people on public transportation are legitimately crazy?--so just count your blessings until you get home to a nice beer and can of Spaghetti-O's and live to fight another day.
Link doesn't have a bag check much less a real human to help luggage-laden patrons temporarily (and confidently) stow their possessions. And... Link cars are surprisingly ill-equipped for customers to do so on their own.
So while we may indeed need to, "stop thinking that our pieces of luggage (property) are people," it might be worthwhile to recognize that people with luggage are still people, no?
I totally disagree with you. You are a selfish and 'modern' person taking public transportation because it is the easiest way for you to travel. Just because you choose to ride public transportation despite your three cars at home, doesn't give you the right to make the rules.
Some people have a difficult time walking six miles with fifty pounds of groceries to their destination. You obviously drive your car for this. Have you ever thought about where the person carrying extra things is coming from?? Have YOU ever thought about THEM?
Well for your information it sucks to carry things on a bus or train. It sucks when YOU won't 'get up' when you see I have a badly hurt ankle and am bringing home food from the food bank. I have to eat too. I paid the fair. Where is your sense of ethics of sharing of mere KINDNESS?? I merely see you as being rude for keeping your window closed when its averaging over 100 degrees on the stuffy Seattle bus. I'm hot, tired, in pain from all the walking that public transportation has me do to catch another bus AND i am holding fifty plus pounds with a sprained ankle. You obviously think you deserve a seat more then me in these situations. You aren't carrying anything except your own passive aggressive anger issues and inability to walk in someone else'es shoes. Why can't you share? Stand so i can take a break from all this. Someday you may need an extra seat and you know what? I will gladly get up for you. Karma comes around.
If you dislike this sense of morality, don't take public transportation. Nobody's aim is to make you suffer, if you even know what that feels like.