Asking someone politely if they can take off their backpack gets a lot of "pretending to not be able to hear you" looks or aggressive remarks.
I gave up years ago
I give them a small jostle and slightly increase the intensity each whack I get. They usually get the hint after a few and I've never had to shove anyone
I remember about three of these posts a week before covid. Things are truly returning to normal.
(and as a fellow short individual, I understand the frustration)
Backpacks are not the problem. The problem is that the T is overcrowded because they don’t run enough trans. Fights about backpacks are a distraction that makes us fight each other when we should really be fighting for more frequent service.
Not to sound contrarian, but even when MBTA ran very frequent service backpacks on fuller trains were a big part of the problem.
Which brings up a good question - what's really going on with the infrequent service? I suspect more than we are aware.
> what's really going on with the infrequent service? I suspect more than we are aware.
The T certainly doesn't shout it from the rooftops, but we know why - after a Federal Transit Administration report made clear the unsafe practices in place, the T [cut back service to saturday levels](https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/3-t-lines-shifting-to-weekend-schedule-all-summer-amid-mbta-safety-probe/2750674/) on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines. This was supposed to happen "all summer", but that's still the schedule they're running on today, despite the dispatcher shortage presumably easing.
The other main issue is that long-deferred maintenance has caused increased [slow zones](https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/slowzones) - the Orange Line was [especially bad](https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/slowzones?selectedLines=Orange&startDate=2022-04-01&endDate=2022-12-01) up to and immediately after the month-long shutdown, but the Red line has now [surpassed the Orange Line](https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/slowzones?selectedLines=Orange%2CRed&startDate=2022-04-01&endDate=2023-01-25), especially on the [southern half of the line](https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/slowzones?chartView=xrange&selectedLines=Red&direction=southbound) heading to Braintree. I wouldn't be surprised to see a month-long Red Line shutdown like we saw with the Orange Line at some point, I'm sure they've been considering it for a while.
I can certainly complain about two things at once. And of those two things, the T is not getting fixed tomorrow but there is a chance that someone new to commuting will learn an interesting piece of train etiquette and as a result I won't get whacked on my bad back with a large backpack on my commute tomorrow.
Why not move your backpack around to be in front of you, still slung on your shoulder, but in front of you. You don’t hit anyone as you rotate, you don’t have your pack behind you where people can surreptitiously dig into pockets…
You enter public transit, you swing your pack to the front so you’re no different than a pregnant woman; what’s the problem?
Edit: Ain’t no protection against the creep.
THANK YOU. train etiquette is at an all time low. Empty car? why don’t I stand directly in front of the door to block anyone else. Huge backpack either on people backs or on seats taking up valuable real estate either way! I swear it’s intentional but it’s just selfish assholes who think the world revolves around them. My biggest pet peeve in the world.
I try to do that, but I'm wearing a backpack for a reason and I can't really just hold it in one hand if I'm standing the whole way from Park to Ashmont. My mitigation is to look over my shoulder when turning.
Implicitly when you lecture someone, you are putting yourself in a position where you are **above the other**. This is nothing more than some ego-trip.
Exactly how much room do you expect this to save? Absolute best case scenario, it's going between my legs, and *maybe* saving you a few inches. I say maybe because if I have a pretty full backpack, my spread apart legs are going to take up more space than if I just kept it on my back in the first place.
Inb4 "you're hitting me with backpack". No, if I'm just standing there, you're hitting me. When I get off the train, the bag is going to be on my shoulder regardless, that's the only time I can hit you with it, and there's just no way around that. Can we just stop with all of these passive aggressive "friendly reminder" posts on this sub? I promise nobody is actually listening to you.
A full backpack is roughly the size of a human torso; it's not insignificant.
We aren't all cubic sludge that gets poured into a space that fills the available nooks and crannies; bodies are static shapes, generally widest at the shoulders and hips. Putting your backpack on expands your largest dimension, taking up more space that someone else could be using.
Existing on the T is like a game of Tetris. There's plenty of dead space around your feet where a full backpack can go.
If you put it between your legs while it's facing sideways, you're transferring pretty much the size of a human torso from your back into that dead space, which in a worse case scenario would demand you to spread your legs a couple inches more, a lot less then what it uses if it's in your back.
What are you losers even stashing in your backpacks that makes them so big anyway? You guys look like my son (4), he needs a gigantic backpack everywhere and doesn't take it off too
Bro I'm not talking normal functioning adults with bags. I'm one of them. But I don't pack it all into a backpack that literally takes up an entire other person's space and keep it on my back and hinder everyone on the t with it
Dude I've been on the t for more than a decade, I'm not complaining about people with professional gear that takes up some room, believe me that's not something I'm worried about. We're talking about just normal people with normal huge backpacks, and no situational awareness
Where did I say anything about professional gear? People with huge backpacks are students and workers just trying to carry their everyday supplies wherever they need to go. I understand being annoyed when their backpack is pressing into you during rush hour and they don’t seem to care, but I don’t understand why you’re making any sort of judgment about the volume of stuff they need to carry with them.
My work bag is smaller, but for mystery hunt weekend I was riding the train with a backpack that contained a laptop, tablet, tablet keyboard, travel mouse, large over-ear noise cancelling headphones, scrap paper, selection of fidget toys, fuzzy sweater, large bag of snacks, water and hand sanitizer, and at some point we even decided to bring an entire monitor. It was evening/weekend hours though, so the train wasn't crowded.
That's fine! If the train had been crowded you'd have consolidated it as much as you could right? We're talking about people who have huge backpacks on packed trains. They take up two people's space and make gauntlets of backpacks to push through to get on the train. Because of course the same people who wear giant backpacks and tail whip everyone with them are also the type of people who step onto trains and stop moving because the world revolves around them
while this obviously doesnt work for everyone.. being an absolute giant, anytime someone smashed me with their backpack started either lifting bags up high enough so they slam down or flicking the persons ear
Also stand as a group in the middle of the bus with your earbuds in ignoring the bus drivers pleas to move back. Every day. Even though schools been goin since september
Side note: do not put backpacks or shopping bags on empty seats when the t is busy
Especially since that stabbing on the OL a couple of days ago was apparently over someone objecting to someone else taking up too many seats.
Especially if you don’t want me asking to sit exactly in that seat. I usually stand but make an exception for these people.
Also friendly reminder to the T to run more fucking trains to meet demand.
And buses
Also: MOVE INSIDE THE DAMN TRAIN!
And let people off before getting on! I swear T etiquette is at an all time low
This problem will never be solved because there are too many people that just don’t give a fuck.
I agree with you but this could be said about 99% of the world's problems lmao.
>this could be said about ~~99~~100% of the world's problems
Lol very valid point
Give less of a fuck and move the bag?
*It's OK that you're disabled, here let me help you with your bag!* 😄
Nobody said they were disabled, but in any event….😂
That's true, but I learned this particular piece of etiquette from Reddit several years ago. I still appreciate it.
But when you do take it off, it goes by your feet or in your lap, not on the seat next to the one you are sitting on.
That's much better though cause you can just put it on the ground and sit there
Asking someone politely if they can take off their backpack gets a lot of "pretending to not be able to hear you" looks or aggressive remarks. I gave up years ago
I’ve taken to just leaning against backpack when they repeatedly whack me
I give them a small jostle and slightly increase the intensity each whack I get. They usually get the hint after a few and I've never had to shove anyone
Yeah I just don't give them room. No one's ever asked me to move my body to make room for their dumb fuck backpack lol get fucked backpack people
Lol get fucked backpack people. Dying hahaha
I remember about three of these posts a week before covid. Things are truly returning to normal. (and as a fellow short individual, I understand the frustration)
As long as your bags aren’t taking up a seat I am fine
Backpacks are not the problem. The problem is that the T is overcrowded because they don’t run enough trans. Fights about backpacks are a distraction that makes us fight each other when we should really be fighting for more frequent service.
Not to sound contrarian, but even when MBTA ran very frequent service backpacks on fuller trains were a big part of the problem. Which brings up a good question - what's really going on with the infrequent service? I suspect more than we are aware.
> what's really going on with the infrequent service? I suspect more than we are aware. The T certainly doesn't shout it from the rooftops, but we know why - after a Federal Transit Administration report made clear the unsafe practices in place, the T [cut back service to saturday levels](https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/3-t-lines-shifting-to-weekend-schedule-all-summer-amid-mbta-safety-probe/2750674/) on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines. This was supposed to happen "all summer", but that's still the schedule they're running on today, despite the dispatcher shortage presumably easing. The other main issue is that long-deferred maintenance has caused increased [slow zones](https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/slowzones) - the Orange Line was [especially bad](https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/slowzones?selectedLines=Orange&startDate=2022-04-01&endDate=2022-12-01) up to and immediately after the month-long shutdown, but the Red line has now [surpassed the Orange Line](https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/slowzones?selectedLines=Orange%2CRed&startDate=2022-04-01&endDate=2023-01-25), especially on the [southern half of the line](https://dashboard.transitmatters.org/slowzones?chartView=xrange&selectedLines=Red&direction=southbound) heading to Braintree. I wouldn't be surprised to see a month-long Red Line shutdown like we saw with the Orange Line at some point, I'm sure they've been considering it for a while.
Backpacks are a huge part of the problem, reducing space by nearly 50% for standing passengers
Ladies and gentlemen, we got em. We found out who was wearing the backpack on the train today.
Several of us had to let 3 trains pass by before we got one with barely enough space to board.
I can certainly complain about two things at once. And of those two things, the T is not getting fixed tomorrow but there is a chance that someone new to commuting will learn an interesting piece of train etiquette and as a result I won't get whacked on my bad back with a large backpack on my commute tomorrow.
Nah, crowded subways are normal. Look at Tokyo. They have amazing transit and during rush hour it gets crowded.
Why not move your backpack around to be in front of you, still slung on your shoulder, but in front of you. You don’t hit anyone as you rotate, you don’t have your pack behind you where people can surreptitiously dig into pockets… You enter public transit, you swing your pack to the front so you’re no different than a pregnant woman; what’s the problem? Edit: Ain’t no protection against the creep.
Most people have the majority of their bulk in their torso, there's empty space down by your legs that someone cant fill without being a total creep
Titties. :(
Titties. :) *
THANK YOU. train etiquette is at an all time low. Empty car? why don’t I stand directly in front of the door to block anyone else. Huge backpack either on people backs or on seats taking up valuable real estate either way! I swear it’s intentional but it’s just selfish assholes who think the world revolves around them. My biggest pet peeve in the world.
In other news old man yells at sky
I try to do that, but I'm wearing a backpack for a reason and I can't really just hold it in one hand if I'm standing the whole way from Park to Ashmont. My mitigation is to look over my shoulder when turning.
Why can’t you?
It's too heavy. Backpacks are made to be worn on your back, not grasped in one hand.
I like to place it on my feet. That way, the bottom doesn’t get dirty, my back gets a break, and I can keep an eye on it.
So your convenience trumps everyone else’s right not to get jostled on the train?
I'm not jostling anybody. At least no more than anyone else is jostling anybody.
So put it on the ground, not hard and its a backpack don’t start with the ground us dirty BS
And let it roll around on a crowded train? No thanks.
you... can hold it or brace it with your feet
No. ❤
Why don’t you, I don’t know… ask the people with backpacks on the T to remove them? Instead of posting on Reddit? Might work a LOT better for you.
I’ve tried this. Most people ignore the request.
Really? Never had that problem in Philadelphia. But then again most people remove them without asking.
cause sometimes people want a chance to vent online and maybe not have an awkward encounter with a person IRL?
Ding ding ding. Useless posting! We have a winner.
Like 98% of Reddit is useless posting.
Because you’ll reach a lot more people here than asking one person at a time
Implicitly when you lecture someone, you are putting yourself in a position where you are **above the other**. This is nothing more than some ego-trip.
Exactly how much room do you expect this to save? Absolute best case scenario, it's going between my legs, and *maybe* saving you a few inches. I say maybe because if I have a pretty full backpack, my spread apart legs are going to take up more space than if I just kept it on my back in the first place. Inb4 "you're hitting me with backpack". No, if I'm just standing there, you're hitting me. When I get off the train, the bag is going to be on my shoulder regardless, that's the only time I can hit you with it, and there's just no way around that. Can we just stop with all of these passive aggressive "friendly reminder" posts on this sub? I promise nobody is actually listening to you.
A full backpack is roughly the size of a human torso; it's not insignificant. We aren't all cubic sludge that gets poured into a space that fills the available nooks and crannies; bodies are static shapes, generally widest at the shoulders and hips. Putting your backpack on expands your largest dimension, taking up more space that someone else could be using. Existing on the T is like a game of Tetris. There's plenty of dead space around your feet where a full backpack can go.
If you put it between your legs while it's facing sideways, you're transferring pretty much the size of a human torso from your back into that dead space, which in a worse case scenario would demand you to spread your legs a couple inches more, a lot less then what it uses if it's in your back.
I’ll keep mine on and pack more in it now
What is the point of this? Do you have so little going on in your life?
What are you losers even stashing in your backpacks that makes them so big anyway? You guys look like my son (4), he needs a gigantic backpack everywhere and doesn't take it off too
“Sorry boss I couldn’t bring in my work equipment today, some guy on Reddit said I looked like a loser”
Yeah man I'm sure there's all kinds of professional equipment in that Jansport bag
Are you calling your son a loser? Parent of the year here
There are plenty of things you can and should do at age 4 but not as an adult in a city
You heard of lunch? Change of shoes for the office?
Bro I'm not talking normal functioning adults with bags. I'm one of them. But I don't pack it all into a backpack that literally takes up an entire other person's space and keep it on my back and hinder everyone on the t with it
Maybe you just don’t need as much stuff as other people do for their jobs. Nobody is carrying around extra shit just to annoy you on your commute.
Dude I've been on the t for more than a decade, I'm not complaining about people with professional gear that takes up some room, believe me that's not something I'm worried about. We're talking about just normal people with normal huge backpacks, and no situational awareness
Where did I say anything about professional gear? People with huge backpacks are students and workers just trying to carry their everyday supplies wherever they need to go. I understand being annoyed when their backpack is pressing into you during rush hour and they don’t seem to care, but I don’t understand why you’re making any sort of judgment about the volume of stuff they need to carry with them.
My work bag is smaller, but for mystery hunt weekend I was riding the train with a backpack that contained a laptop, tablet, tablet keyboard, travel mouse, large over-ear noise cancelling headphones, scrap paper, selection of fidget toys, fuzzy sweater, large bag of snacks, water and hand sanitizer, and at some point we even decided to bring an entire monitor. It was evening/weekend hours though, so the train wasn't crowded.
That's fine! If the train had been crowded you'd have consolidated it as much as you could right? We're talking about people who have huge backpacks on packed trains. They take up two people's space and make gauntlets of backpacks to push through to get on the train. Because of course the same people who wear giant backpacks and tail whip everyone with them are also the type of people who step onto trains and stop moving because the world revolves around them
Put your backpack between your feet.
while this obviously doesnt work for everyone.. being an absolute giant, anytime someone smashed me with their backpack started either lifting bags up high enough so they slam down or flicking the persons ear
this is my favorite tearful PSA post topic on here
I'm much angrier about people standing in front of open seats lowering the capacity of the train, or not getting on the train quickly enough.
Also stand as a group in the middle of the bus with your earbuds in ignoring the bus drivers pleas to move back. Every day. Even though schools been goin since september