I use public transport a fair bit in London & Sussex but particularly in London & for a number of years now the queuing system at a bus stop is non existent. No consideration is given by the majority towards fellow travellers re age, gender, disability etc when boarding. A free for all sounds a bit dramatic but you’ll get my drift.
I’m a born & bred Londoner & lived there 60 years although the last 10 years in Sussex which in bigger towns as Brighton, Worthing etc can also not be great although you have to wait for passengers to exit before boarding. I’m not saying it never happened back in the day but it was rare not to join a queue at the back.
London buses nowadays passengers leave by one door & we join the bus by another which should make it smooth even though when there is only about a dozen getting on a half empty double decker bus there is still queue jumping & sometimes quite robust.
The underground which is constantly busy & sometimes manic as doors open has never been great. Trains also but again these modes of transport it’s a case of wait on the platform & head for the closest door.
My post was prompted as yesterday at Clapham Junction waiting for the bus with about 15 people as the ‘rush’ to the door started a young guy of about 25 said to me “go ahead mate you were before me” maybe he could see I’m now an ‘oldie’ but anyway I was pleasantly surprised.
Mind you even queuing or lack of at busy take aways can have similar issues & I’m sure at other areas of business.
My mini rant is over but I wonder in your neck of the woods if it’s the same scenario? I’ve used bus as the worst example but posted here as I’m sure there are many other instances outside of public transport.
Queueing as a rule doesn't tend to happen in Edinburgh.
In the North East where I grew up, when you arrive at a stop, you look at the people at the stop already and calculate how many people are in front of you. If you want the bus that's approaching you'd step forward and a secondary queue would form, mostly in line with the priority of who arrived at the stop first. It works, people don't get arsey about it.
Up here, I can stand at the stop, put my hand out when the bus I want approaches and even if it manages to stop right next to me, there are still some that just decide they're getting on before you.
When I've worked in bars I've always tried to make a mental note of who was there first and I'll nod to someone to acknowledge that I've seen them, but again you're always going to get the MeMeMe types who don't care. My instinct is to ignore them and make them wait their turn but, unfortunately, they're the ones who will complain loudly so it's better just to serve them and get them out of the way.
Now, when those same people push in and then turn to their mates to ask what everyone is drinking, that's when I start to get irritated. The annoyance dial goes up to 10 when the last drink they order is a pint of Guinness!
I used to pointedly ignore them and make them wait their turn, they could shout and complain as much as they want, but I could point to who was in front of them every time. I found that it made the decent ones waiting their turn more appreciative of the job I was doing and that I'd get to them as quickly as I could.
In Newcastle its extremely variable. The queue is religiously followed for my local routes out of Haymarket and St Mary's Place, despite four routes serving one stop at the latter.
Meanwhile, the bus stops for some Stagecoach routes to the west end turn into a confused clump and everyone just seems to do whatever.
London I've been borderline shoved by people trying to get on a bus before me. As far as I've observed, queueing just doesn't happen.
The Go North East routes I've used all my life until I moved to Edinburgh have all been more or less the same, see who's in front of you, wait your turn.
Edinburgh was a place where people queued for buses at the stops. Not sure if this still happens
It doesn't
I remember the Edinburgh extension of the principle at shelterless bus-stops in the rain. Everyone would find shelter in shop doorways etc but knew exactly what the order of the queue was when the bus arrived. With middle exit doors and exact fare only, boarding was then usually a very quick affair!
It can be, but we get people fumbling in their bags for their Ridacard, or their credit/ debit card, then you have the ones that don't have their phone ready to pay by contactless that way. I find it weird that with Apple pay, you have to have to unlock your phone, go into your wallet and select the card you want to use, whereas with GooglePay, you just need to wake up the phone and it's done.
My main gripe about all this is as
@Ivor says, lack of awareness of your place in the queue and the other is, when I'm getting off, those that decide they're getting on regardless of whether the passengers alighting are off, what would it take for them to understand, the bus will wait for you, it won't pull away and leave you at the stop if you're waiting
