Stupid passengers

[PermitToTravel]

Laws have a corresponding enforcement mechanism, used as necessary.

Passive aggressive announcements are just that - if people ignore them once, they'll continue to do so.

 

[RichmondCommu]

It's nothing to do with that; I just don't understand how people can fail to notice that the doors open by themselves at every single stop, so why do they think that they have to press the buttons?

Last time I went abroad I spent a couple of stops observing how the train works so I knew how to board/alight in the proper manner.

I think you've answered your own question here. The vast majority of travellers new to a particular network won't think to do that. That doesn't mean to say that they are idiots does it?

 

[Mojo]

I think you've answered your own question here. The vast majority of travellers new to a particular network won't think to do that. That doesn't mean to say that they are idiots does it?

Do people really not do any research into how the transportation system of their destination works if visiting somewhere unusual? Whether your expected mode of transport is train, Tram, bus, taxi or hire car, I'd have thought it pretty essential. I never said it made someone an idiot; but I don't understand how someone can completely fail to understand what is going on around them.

 

[Skarpur]

On the Sheffield to Lincoln train this morning, two minutes after we set off someone asks if its the Meadowhall train. They jumped on without looking where it was going. Granted most trains north of Sheffield do stop at Meadowhall but you'd think people would at least check before getting on!

 

[stut]

Do people really not do any research into how the transportation system of their destination works if visiting somewhere unusual? Whether your expected mode of transport is train, Tram, bus, taxi or hire car, I'd have thought it pretty essential. I never said it made someone an idiot; but I don't understand how someone can completely fail to understand what is going on around them.

Sure - but I'm not sure that goes down to the level of detail of learning how to operate the doors in advance.

People can be incredibly unaware of what's going on around them, though, whether it's the person absorbed in a book, concentrating on looking after young children, or the one with a complete lack of self-awareness. Takes all sorts.

(Actually, talking of lack of self-awareness, my particular pet hate is how the people who take the longest to get on/off the train - i.e. with a mountain of luggage, rather than elderly/disabled - inevitably push their way to the front... My train from Peterborough to Leeds at the weekend was held up because someone with eleventy suitcases decided to push on first and block the entire corridor, leaving people queuing on the platform.)

 

[lj9090]

There was one I saw a few months ago heading back from London on a Sunday evening during the Southampton blockade.

Young lady gets on at Woking in tears, and speaks to the driver as she's boarding at the front of the train. She was on a train heading to London, is trying to get to Lymington.

Over the course of the journey those of us on the carriage and the guard establish she'd come from Cosham at 4pm, and was told by platform staff at Eastleigh to get on 'that train' which she did. Some point prior to Woking someone then told her she should get off and get a train going back the other way.

It's now late evening, there's bustitution from Airport to Brockenhurst, and the Lymington service would be long finished by the time she gets down there. There's a few of us now busy checking the bus schedules and phoning up taxi companies, as the only person who could give her a lift is her mum who's busy looking after her child.

So it seems everything's all resolved, she's going to get home a little late but at least she can get home. At Eastleigh there's a change of guard & driver before we head onto Airport, and she recounts her story to the new driver.
And here it becomes clear she's doesn't live in Lymington after all. She has tickets to Leamington (Spa), and it's now gone 11pm.

I'm assuming what happened was she knew she had to change at Eastliegh, but on asking someone at the station was either told to get the next XC service and got an SWT service instead, or was told to get the next train and change at Basingstoke but failed to change.
I then guess somewhere just prior to Woking she was told to get a train back to Basingstoke. Lymington then being in the direction she was now going that was all that anyone could hear, and no-one thought to check her tickets.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I've never understood why people press the 'door open' button on Underground trains where doors open automatically at each stop.

The S-stock doors also close automatically after a few seconds, so it is perfectly possible that they DID have to press the button to open the doors when they got on.

That said, it does infuriate me when someone barges past me to jab the (unlit) door button, as though I was just standing there to make the queue look more impressive.

The worst are the ones on 333s who press the 'Close and Lock' button on the inside of the toilets as they leave, meaning that the toilet can't be used until the guard comes and resets it!

That's just a design flaw on the toilet, though, especially as there's no door close button on the outside. I always like to close the toilet door after use, it's only good manners.

The ones who don't lock the door amuse me though. Especially on EC trains or Voyagers, as the door trundles open s l o w l y and then trundles s l o w l y closed again, all the while some dopey idiot sitting there with their pants round their knees.

 

[Journeyman]

I used to work at Charing Cross tube station. One day, a guy came up to me, quite casually dressed, and asked how to get to Barking as he needed to go there for a job interview. I assumed he meant for some time in the future, as a normal person would (a) dress smartly on the day and (b) make sure they knew how to get there in advance. Anyway, I told him the easiest way was to walk up the street to Embankment and get the District line. He thanked me and asked how long it would take. I told him about 45 minutes.

At this point he completely lost his rag and told me he needed to be there in 20 minutes, and asked me what I was going to do about it. The answer to that was "not a lot", given that I couldn't magically move Barking and Charing Cross closer to each other.

 

[dannypye9999]

I think its time to install signs above the door buttons on trains for these desperate door button bashers. The signs could read "DOORS WILL NOT OPEN UNTIL THEY LIGHT UP SO DONT BOTHER PRESSING THEM". Ive lost count of the number of people who frantically bash at these buttons thinking the doors will open before they even light up (and before the train comes to a standstill on some occasions) One day somebody is going to break one of these buttons due to their increased violent bashing and then they will be the first ones at customer service complaining and wondering why so many doors are out of use.

 

[34D]

I think its time to install signs above the door buttons on trains for these desperate door button bashers. The signs could read "DOORS WILL NOT OPEN UNTIL THEY LIGHT UP SO DONT BOTHER PRESSING THEM". Ive lost count of the number of people who frantically bash at these buttons thinking the doors will open before they even light up (and before the train comes to a standstill on some occasions) One day somebody is going to break one of these buttons due to their increased violent bashing and then they will be the first ones at customer service complaining and wondering why so many doors are out of use.

Some will. Manchester metro link M5000 is one example

I always use the door close button, partly to keep others warm and partly so the guard gets the pilot light a couple of seconds early

LU D stock had a mode where all doors in a carriage except one were left closed. I forget whether the buttons on other doors then had any effect.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

If the announcements have no effect on the people they are intended to target, is there any point in making the announcements?

If they didn't make the announcements and there was an accident, fingers would be pointed in the direction of the announcer, rather than the idiot who had an accident.:roll:

 

[hounddog]

There was one I saw a few months ago heading back from London on a Sunday evening during the Southampton blockade.

Young lady gets on at Woking in tears, and speaks to the driver as she's boarding at the front of the train. She was on a train heading to London, is trying to get to Lymington.

Over the course of the journey those of us on the carriage and the guard establish she'd come from Cosham at 4pm, and was told by platform staff at Eastleigh to get on 'that train' which she did. Some point prior to Woking someone then told her she should get off and get a train going back the other way.

It's now late evening, there's bustitution from Airport to Brockenhurst, and the Lymington service would be long finished by the time she gets down there. There's a few of us now busy checking the bus schedules and phoning up taxi companies, as the only person who could give her a lift is her mum who's busy looking after her child.

So it seems everything's all resolved, she's going to get home a little late but at least she can get home. At Eastleigh there's a change of guard & driver before we head onto Airport, and she recounts her story to the new driver.
And here it becomes clear she's doesn't live in Lymington after all. She has tickets to Leamington (Spa), and it's now gone 11pm.

I'm assuming what happened was she knew she had to change at Eastliegh, but on asking someone at the station was either told to get the next XC service and got an SWT service instead, or was told to get the next train and change at Basingstoke but failed to change.
I then guess somewhere just prior to Woking she was told to get a train back to Basingstoke. Lymington then being in the direction she was now going that was all that anyone could hear, and no-one thought to check her tickets.

Doesn't sound like a stupid passenger to me. At least not the passenger who was being messed about. Some of those helping her on the other hand...

 

[Kristofferson]

During the WCML disruption today, all the Virgin Pendolinos were using the slow lines, passing through platforms which are normally used by local services. At my local (LM-only) station, one happened to stop at a red signal at the end of the platform.

Everyone patiently queued up at the doors... and seemed very disappointed when the driver sounded the horn and pulled away as soon as the signal turned yellow.

 

[Urban Gateline]

During the WCML disruption today, all the Virgin Pendolinos were using the slow lines, passing through platforms which are normally used by local services. At my local (LM-only) station, one happened to stop at a red signal at the end of the platform.

Everyone patiently queued up at the doors... and seemed very disappointed when the driver sounded the horn and pulled away as soon as the signal turned yellow.

We get this a lot at Watford Junction, and some VT services do stop there to set-down only on the way into Euston, which is great fun when these services run on the slow lines, explaining to people why they cannot board!

 

[island]

I think its time to install signs above the door buttons on trains for these desperate door button bashers. The signs could read "DOORS WILL NOT OPEN UNTIL THEY LIGHT UP SO DONT BOTHER PRESSING THEM". Ive lost count of the number of people who frantically bash at these buttons thinking the doors will open before they even light up (and before the train comes to a standstill on some occasions) One day somebody is going to break one of these buttons due to their increased violent bashing and then they will be the first ones at customer service complaining and wondering why so many doors are out of use.

On Pendolinos it is worse. The door opens several seconds after the button is pressed because the step is unfolding. So the button bashers assume it doesn't work and keep pressing, then assume that it was only because they pressed it so many times that it opened at all...

 

[Tim R-T-C]

hotlinked with permission

 

[Kite159]

I think its time to install signs above the door buttons on trains for these desperate door button bashers. The signs could read "DOORS WILL NOT OPEN UNTIL THEY LIGHT UP SO DONT BOTHER PRESSING THEM". Ive lost count of the number of people who frantically bash at these buttons thinking the doors will open before they even light up (and before the train comes to a standstill on some occasions) One day somebody is going to break one of these buttons due to their increased violent bashing and then they will be the first ones at customer service complaining and wondering why so many doors are out of use.

"Door buttons are now active" On the 458s

---

As for the toilet, I raise you on a London Midland service, opened the unlocked door to the toilet to find a youngish lady (probably 20s) giving some services to a youngish male. At least make sure the door is locked before giving hand jobs :roll:

 

[GatwickDepress]

Presumably if a member of staff ordered them to stop, they'd be accused of being handjobsworths.

 

[bussnapperwm]

As for the toilet, I raise you on a London Midland service, opened the unlocked door to the toilet to find a youngish lady (probably 20s) giving some services to a youngish male. At least make sure the door is locked before giving hand jobs :roll:

I like it

 

[WelshBluebird]

On Pendolinos it is worse. The door opens several seconds after the button is pressed because the step is unfolding. So the button bashers assume it doesn't work and keep pressing, then assume that it was only because they pressed it so many times that it opened at all...

It is like that with the 158's too because of how slow the doors are at opening.

 

[dannypye9999]

As for the toilet, I raise you on a London Midland service, opened the unlocked door to the toilet to find a youngish lady (probably 20s) giving some services to a youngish male. At least make sure the door is locked before giving hand jobs :roll:

I assume this was a weekend late night service full of drunkards and not a Monday morning commuter service.

 

[gnolife]

On Sunday, there was a passenger ranting about theguard on a Charing X - Hastings service not making an announcement during a delay at Sevenoaks. This was while thr guard was making an announcement, except that none of us could hear it. A few of us went beack and qsked what he said, which was that the train would not be calling at Hildenborough, Battle or West St Leonards. When the train finally moved off, that passenger was... not impressed... when the train went flying through Hildenborougjh, and even less inpressed when an RPI penalty fared her for travelling beyond her destination.

 

[PermitToTravel]

So the passenger is stupid for not telepathically determining that she would be overcarried?

 

[thelongestroad]

To that RPI: Rather you than me...

 

[edwin_m]

So the passenger is stupid for not telepathically determining that she would be overcarried?

No, the passenger is stupid for not shutting up and listening to the announcement. And possibly preventing others from hearing it as well.

Although it sounds a bit mean to impose a penalty fare in that situation.

 

[SPADTrap]

So the passenger is stupid for not telepathically determining that she would be overcarried?

The RPI is both stupid and wrong for issuing a PF! Madness that.

 

[PermitToTravel]

No, the passenger is stupid for not shutting up and listening to the announcement. And possibly preventing others from hearing it as well.

Although it sounds a bit mean to impose a penalty fare in that situation.

I'd read it as gnolife saying that the announcement was too quiet for them to hear anyway (and too quiet for her to detect). If it was loud enough and she just drowned it out then I definitely agree with you

I'd also not have issued the penalty fare were I the RPI - might they have been under the impression that that train always misses out Hildenborough?

The RPI is both stupid and wrong for issuing a PF! Madness that.

For once I completely agree with you hock:

 

[Flamingo]

Sounds like she failed the attitude test with the RPI...

 

[Kite159]

I assume this was a weekend late night service full of drunkards and not a Monday morning commuter service.

Sunday afternoon service to Euston from Crewe

 

[rogger13]

That doesn't sound particularly unusual. Many folk today are geographically challenged, not knowing for instance that Blackpool is north of London while Bournemouth is south.

I blame sat navs. And stupidity, which sat navs foster and maps don't.

Very true..........