The Bus Rant!

 

I haven't had a good rant in a long time, so I'm really excited to have one now!

My sister and I were talking last week, and we got onto the subject of buses. As our mum doesn't really travel on the bus, we were telling her all of the things that annoy us about travelling on the bus. I then took note of them and decided to make them into a post!

Being a typical 'Londoner', I travel on the bus really really often. I use at least 10 buses  to get home from school in an average week, and I've noticed a lot of things!

If you don't use the bus, then enjoy the fact that you might not be faced with these problems!

- Someone Sitting Next To You

I am that person who stands up in an empty bus, just because I don't really want to deal with this issue, which happens all the time. Basically, there are two problems with sitting down in a bus with an empty seat next to you.

1: When someone sits next to you on an empty bus.
This seems to happen all the time. When the bus is completely empty and you take a seat, knowing that no sane person would sit next to you when they have this huge choice of seats. But then, someone gets on, and decides that the only place that they can sit, is right next to you! It is so annoying. But what's equally annoying is thing number 2:

2: When no one sits next to you
When you're going on a long journey, so you take a seat and sit back. As the journey continues and the bus gets more and more packed, you notice that no one is sitting next to you. You think it's a coincidence, but then you notice that people are actually choosing to stand up rather than sit next to you. This has happened to me before and it is so annoying! I don't know what it is, but it's like, I don't want people to sit next to me, but then I do want them to!

- Pressing The Bell

 

If you don't travel on the bus, let me explain this to you. Basically, on a train or the metro etc. the vehicle stops at every stop to let people on or off. On the bus, if you want to get off, you have to press the bell.

Now, pressing the bell in itself doesn't annoy me. What does annoy me are the people who feel the need to press the bell constantly! Not only is the sound really annoying, but it's really unnecessary. After one press, the driver knows that you want to get off. All repetitive pressing does is annoy every single person!

 

- Prams On Buses

I don't have a picture, but basically there is a specific place on the bus that is for prams (baby pushchairs) and wheelchairs. But if there's no one there, people are free to stand in these spaces. Anyway, there is only enough space for two prams or one wheelchair. What annoys me is when there are already two prams in the space, and someone else tries to push their pram onto the bus. There is no space and it's impossible for you to get on so why are you still trying?

 

-Waiting Until The Last Second...

This is something that particularly annoys my sister. On buses, you have two decks. What's annoying about this is that, if you're on the top deck, you have to wait until the bus stops moving to get off, or risk falling down the stairs. Anyway, what's annoying is when someone on the top deck waits up there until the bus is almost ready to go to the next stop, and then press the bell repeatedly because they missed their stop. It's a small thing but it just really annoys us!

 

- Oyster Cards

 

For those who don't know, oyster cards are how most people choose to pay for travel on buses, tubes and trains (etc.) in England (I don't know if you use them anywhere else). Most people put money on their oyster cards, but if you're a student (Like me, for the next 7 months at least!) then your travel is free, although you still have to have an oyster card. Everyone who travels in England knows this. So what annoys me is when people know they don't have their oyster card, but rather than explaining why to the bus driver, they get on and argue for 10 minutes with the bus driver about why they 'have to' get on, and end up having to leave. Either don't try to get on the bus without an oyster card, or don't ruin other people's journeys by having an argument that is caused by you. Especially when the bus driver is just doing their job.

 

- Packed Buses

Sometimes, especially during rush hour, the buses are extremely packed with people! It's impossible to even squeeze your way off of the bus let alone cram your way onto it. What's annoying about this is the people that see how packed the bus is, but still try to cram their way on. I know that sometimes, especially if you've been waiting a while, you have to make do with how packed the bus is, but this doesn't make it any less annoying! Especially when it seems like no one wants to get off so the bus just gets hotter and more cramped!

 

- Using The Phone

This is one of the things that annoy me the most. Sometimes, it seems that people don't understand that the bus is a form of public transport where everyone can hear what you say. Some people sit at the back of the bus, get their phones out, and just have the loudest conversation ever for all to hear! I mean seriously, I don't want to know where you get your hair done or how much you paid for a cup of coffee, I just want to get to my destination without any annoyances!

 

- Standing To Let People In/Out

This goes back to sitting next to someone. When I sit next to someone that I don't know, I hate sitting in the inside, by the window. This is because, when people want to get off the bus, the most normal thing to do would be to stand up and let them go past you. But some people seem to be incapable of this, and instead stay in their seat and force the person to squeeze past them so that they can get out! I don't know why, but this is just so annoying. Why inconvenience someone when you can just get up and let them move freely?

As well as this, there's the person who sits on the outside so that people can't sit next to them. Then, when someone tries, rather than moving up, the again, make someone squeeze past them to get out. It really annoys me so much!

 

- Annoying Drivers

This is the last thing that annoys me. I have a lot of respect for bus drivers, they have to deal with a lot of shit from the people getting on and off the bus. However, some things the do really annoy me. For one, when they see that someone is running to catch the bus, and rather than wait for them to get on, they close the doors quickly and drive away.

This especially annoys me when they wait until someone gets to the doors, and then they shut them literally in their face! It really annoys me!

 

*Obviously this is just a silly rant about some things that annoy me, it's not meant to offend anyone!

 

Thank you for reading!

 

Comment below something that annoys you about public transpost!

 

Keep Smiling - Lou xx