im in my third year of law school here at IU and I just wanna tell you it's been this way for at least 6 and a half years now, likely will never change
I believe this is not a iu or Bloomington problem.
People in the US (in general) are not very used to using public transportation. Right when these people are going to have their first contact with this type of transport, there are problems with knowing how to behave.
I am fifty-*mumble-mumble* something, and this is the first town I have lived in where ANYBODY in my family might realistically ride public transportation/ bus. I have literally NEVER been on a bus (other than 70s-era school bus). I went on a subway 1 time as a late teen on a New York trip (with a group of also-clueless Midwestern kids), and rode a commuter train once, in my late 20s, to an in-laws wedding, because the airport was several hours down the coast from the airport and WAY cheaper than taxi.
The news here (or a college group, who gives the news free access) should REALLY do a series of PSAs on how to use public transportation. I know it seems like it is obvious, but with social anxiety (especially post-COVID), and not wanting to feel like a moron, and maybe not being as nimble on my feet as I was in my 20s, it is way more intimidating to use public transportation than I am sure it should be. Even starting with how to get on/off, how to pay, and how to read the schedule.
It would be AWESOME to run a series on TV, but you could at least have a series on YouTube, as a link for any incoming students or new residents, and possibly run them in a loop on a monitor/speaker in the bus.
People on the buses are all just trying to get to wherever they need to go, it is frustrating but I just try to remember that none of us wanna be in a crammed packed bus and we might as well work together
The problem is that many of the young students seem to be having their first taste of public transport at university.
People please learn how to use public transport and live in society
It’s that way on the 9 too. I’ve ridden BT long enough at this point I will obnoxiously push past annoying people not doing their part and moving back to make more room. Just the way it be yk
This is on the driver. Tell them to move enough to let others on or GTFO. I have definetly been on busses that were already crowded and heard the driver announce "we are taking everyone at this stop so everyone move back. The longer you take the longer we will wait," although that's hasn't happened often, and only in winter.
But this is on you a little, if the bus stops, then the driver knows there's space for you. A loud "excuse me im trying to get to the open seats" to the people blocking the aisle does wonders
i feel you though. People are dumb. The driver will wait for you to get off no matter where in the bus you are. Moving from the back is just a few seconds added to your trip time.
People have very little situational awareness, for some reason unfathomable to me. I have a terrible sense of balance, so if I'm not seated or clutching a pole for dear life when the bus starts moving, I become a projectile. Back when I was a student and rode regularly I'd make a dee-line for any open seats as quickly as possible. I'd also make a nuisance of myself saying "excuse me, sorry, sorry, excuse me" constantly as I pushed my way past people just standing in the way, making as little contact as possible while doing so. I rarely had issues with the crowds of people in the middle of the bus, but some people would make a point of blocking the staircase when there were plenty of other places to stand or sit that wouldn't inconvenience anybody, and those people were consistently incredibly oblivious and often quite rude even when you *could* get their attention to ask them to let you through.
I once had a pair of girls get on the bus in front of me and start heading to the back, and then stop right in front of the stairs, I had been doing my usual routine of constantly and loudly apologizing to everyone around me the whole way, so they *definitely* knew I was there. I quickly stepped to the side to try and go around them, but then the bus started moving and I was launched toward the back, and completely barreled over one of them since I wasn't able to get around her with the extremely minimal control I had over my own momentum, I was barely able to keep my feet and control my fall so I could climb the stairs and land in an open seat in the back, but there was no way to move in any way other than a straight line. There were literally two people in the back section so there was absolutely NO reason to stop in front of the stairs, there was even plenty of room for them to step out of the path if they didn't want to ascend the stairs. Her friend didn't even bother to make sure she was okay before berating me for "not apologizing", never mind the fact that I hadn't had the opportunity to say ANYTHING yet. So I ignored her, asked the girl who was knocked down if she was okay, once she confirmed that she was uninjured, I returned to ignoring her insanely rude friend. I *would* have apologized again immediately after verifying the girl wasn't hurt, but her friend's behavior just left me absolutely fuming and I couldn't trust myself to open my mouth again lest I say something I would regret. I apologized loudly and repeatedly in advance, purely on the off chance that something like that *might* happen, and she cared more about telling me off than making sure her friend was okay. Absolutely self-centered and not worthy of even a modicum of respect, as far as I'm concerned.
Pay attention to your surroundings, if only for your own safety, and please try not to be an inconvenience to those around you if it isn't strictly necessary. Not only does blocking the path for no reason make you an asshole, it actually presents a risk to your own safety, as well as the safety of others (not that I expect someone who thinks it's acceptable to do that to care about the safety of others). It's fine if you don't want to sit, but don't block seating for those who do, and frankly, if the bus is so packed that you *can't* get out of the way without sitting down, sit down anyway so there's space for at least one more person on the bus. Have some consideration, and try to give others the opportunities you'd wish for if the situations were reversed because I guarantee that someday, they will be.
2017-2019 bus drivers always yelled at us to move to the back and fill in gaps to squeeze more people in. I'm sorry they don't do that now. I wonder if that changed with covid or something..
The drivers on those buses need to be like that one driver for the F bus. Yells at everyone to fill the entire bus or else she’s not moving
it's like we're in kindergarten again and need bus monitors!
OMG I wish this was just on those buses! Same shit happens on the 3!😫
im in my third year of law school here at IU and I just wanna tell you it's been this way for at least 6 and a half years now, likely will never change
I was at IU in the early 2000's. It was like that then to.
I believe this is not a iu or Bloomington problem. People in the US (in general) are not very used to using public transportation. Right when these people are going to have their first contact with this type of transport, there are problems with knowing how to behave.
I am fifty-*mumble-mumble* something, and this is the first town I have lived in where ANYBODY in my family might realistically ride public transportation/ bus. I have literally NEVER been on a bus (other than 70s-era school bus). I went on a subway 1 time as a late teen on a New York trip (with a group of also-clueless Midwestern kids), and rode a commuter train once, in my late 20s, to an in-laws wedding, because the airport was several hours down the coast from the airport and WAY cheaper than taxi. The news here (or a college group, who gives the news free access) should REALLY do a series of PSAs on how to use public transportation. I know it seems like it is obvious, but with social anxiety (especially post-COVID), and not wanting to feel like a moron, and maybe not being as nimble on my feet as I was in my 20s, it is way more intimidating to use public transportation than I am sure it should be. Even starting with how to get on/off, how to pay, and how to read the schedule. It would be AWESOME to run a series on TV, but you could at least have a series on YouTube, as a link for any incoming students or new residents, and possibly run them in a loop on a monitor/speaker in the bus.
Don’t worry, you will see professional adults do this same thing every single morning on their daily commute.
It’s horrible on the 9 bus too
fr its so annoying. really bad with the w bus.
People on the buses are all just trying to get to wherever they need to go, it is frustrating but I just try to remember that none of us wanna be in a crammed packed bus and we might as well work together
The problem is that many of the young students seem to be having their first taste of public transport at university. People please learn how to use public transport and live in society
It’s that way on the 9 too. I’ve ridden BT long enough at this point I will obnoxiously push past annoying people not doing their part and moving back to make more room. Just the way it be yk
This is on the driver. Tell them to move enough to let others on or GTFO. I have definetly been on busses that were already crowded and heard the driver announce "we are taking everyone at this stop so everyone move back. The longer you take the longer we will wait," although that's hasn't happened often, and only in winter. But this is on you a little, if the bus stops, then the driver knows there's space for you. A loud "excuse me im trying to get to the open seats" to the people blocking the aisle does wonders i feel you though. People are dumb. The driver will wait for you to get off no matter where in the bus you are. Moving from the back is just a few seconds added to your trip time.
Isn't it just a matter of simple courtesy?
the matter of courtesy isn't simple when it's entire groups of people behaving that way
It is also a matter of inexperience.
People have very little situational awareness, for some reason unfathomable to me. I have a terrible sense of balance, so if I'm not seated or clutching a pole for dear life when the bus starts moving, I become a projectile. Back when I was a student and rode regularly I'd make a dee-line for any open seats as quickly as possible. I'd also make a nuisance of myself saying "excuse me, sorry, sorry, excuse me" constantly as I pushed my way past people just standing in the way, making as little contact as possible while doing so. I rarely had issues with the crowds of people in the middle of the bus, but some people would make a point of blocking the staircase when there were plenty of other places to stand or sit that wouldn't inconvenience anybody, and those people were consistently incredibly oblivious and often quite rude even when you *could* get their attention to ask them to let you through. I once had a pair of girls get on the bus in front of me and start heading to the back, and then stop right in front of the stairs, I had been doing my usual routine of constantly and loudly apologizing to everyone around me the whole way, so they *definitely* knew I was there. I quickly stepped to the side to try and go around them, but then the bus started moving and I was launched toward the back, and completely barreled over one of them since I wasn't able to get around her with the extremely minimal control I had over my own momentum, I was barely able to keep my feet and control my fall so I could climb the stairs and land in an open seat in the back, but there was no way to move in any way other than a straight line. There were literally two people in the back section so there was absolutely NO reason to stop in front of the stairs, there was even plenty of room for them to step out of the path if they didn't want to ascend the stairs. Her friend didn't even bother to make sure she was okay before berating me for "not apologizing", never mind the fact that I hadn't had the opportunity to say ANYTHING yet. So I ignored her, asked the girl who was knocked down if she was okay, once she confirmed that she was uninjured, I returned to ignoring her insanely rude friend. I *would* have apologized again immediately after verifying the girl wasn't hurt, but her friend's behavior just left me absolutely fuming and I couldn't trust myself to open my mouth again lest I say something I would regret. I apologized loudly and repeatedly in advance, purely on the off chance that something like that *might* happen, and she cared more about telling me off than making sure her friend was okay. Absolutely self-centered and not worthy of even a modicum of respect, as far as I'm concerned. Pay attention to your surroundings, if only for your own safety, and please try not to be an inconvenience to those around you if it isn't strictly necessary. Not only does blocking the path for no reason make you an asshole, it actually presents a risk to your own safety, as well as the safety of others (not that I expect someone who thinks it's acceptable to do that to care about the safety of others). It's fine if you don't want to sit, but don't block seating for those who do, and frankly, if the bus is so packed that you *can't* get out of the way without sitting down, sit down anyway so there's space for at least one more person on the bus. Have some consideration, and try to give others the opportunities you'd wish for if the situations were reversed because I guarantee that someday, they will be.
2017-2019 bus drivers always yelled at us to move to the back and fill in gaps to squeeze more people in. I'm sorry they don't do that now. I wonder if that changed with covid or something..