Etiquette Rule #2: Limit Cell Phone Usage

We Can Hear You Now
Advances in technology (and accessibility of said technology) have led to ubiquitous cell phone use, ranking cell phone users among the top etiquette offenders on public transport. When using a cell phone as you board a bus or train, it is appropriate to inform your conversational compadre that you now "have to go" and will "call back" upon reaching your destination. A silent alternative is to switch to the transit-friendly text message. Short calls to coordinate logistics or update loved ones on your status are within the rules of etiquette, as are calls to update co-workers that you will be late to work due to unforeseen transport delays. However, for these quick calls it is essential to keep your volume in check. Mr. Bluetool, if your voice drowns out the music coming through my headphones, you're talking too loud. Remember that a permanent, invisible phone booth does not follow you everywhere you go. And, there's no privacy to your conversation just because we can only hear one side of it. Hearing every word you say is usually enough for us to piece together that you didn't get the job or that your SO is spending another night in the doghouse. If your BFF needs advice about last night's drunken dalliance, it's more discreet to offer her text support. The painful truth: when you're on the phone, we're judging you and wish your call would drop.

Muni Manner: Keep cell phone use to a minimum when riding public transport. It's the safe and courteous thing to do.

Etiquette Rule #1: Boarding the Train

No, After You
Stand at a transit stop on any given day and you might realize that the basic act of boarding a train has become a metaphor of our contemporary lifestyle. Regardless of the nagging feeling that time is having its way with us, the code of conduct when embarking a bus or train is quite simple: stand to the side of the doors to allow passengers clear berth to exit the train. And by ‘side’ we don’t mean positioning yourself on the platform where the door typically opens. Remember, if people can’t exit, there’s less room for you to board. So if you’re running late for a meeting, need to post bail for a friend, get your child to daycare, or that bakery on Clement is about to close, basic laws of inertia indicate you are not making your commute (or ours) any shorter by plowing through an opposing melee of passengers. If you start to feel anxiety setting in, take a deep breath and appreciate those last few seconds of control before completely relinquishing the next thirty minutes of your precious time to public transportation. Besides, have you ever seen salmon swimming upstream? It’s a tiresome journey.

Muni Manner: Always let exiting passengers leave the train before you board. It's the safe and courteous thing to do.