h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have been fascinated for a long time on how people choose their seating on public transport.
Logic would dictate that the nearest seat would be the one chosen but there are variables that prevent this from happening in all cases.
Firstly there is the double seat rule that states having a seat to your own beats sitting next to an old women who smells of wee. Secondly there is the avoidance of chewing gum and other nutritional left overs.
And of course there the forward facing seats are always preferred.

Taking these into account there seems to be an odd behaviour that is extremely common, people seem to pick their seating using some chaotic maths as even with taking the above rules into account there seems to be no logic in where they sit. Some go to the back some right to the front, others sit down then decide for some unknown reason that baffles me to move to another seemingly identical seat.

Hey Niz, I started writing a reply to this posting but now it has become so long that I am thinking about posting it in outer space (as opposed to "your space"). How about a joint venture project for a guide posting entitled "Human behaviour on buses"? Could be fun!

SMILES & SUNSHINE
Chshirecatgeisha

Good idea Batman!!


Holy Coach load!!

We'd have to be the top deck, back seat posse

Sorry, but I hate them. They are the ones who ruined my ride to the train station last morning by smoking a cigarette (in the bus!) and then, when I turned around and told them they were complete morons, they got out their bong (!!!!), but unfortunately (for them, since they were trying to be cool and show off) they had no pot so they had to use pure tobacco which obviously spoiled the effect. Wannabe-gansters! And these guys are not more than 15 years old. I don´t mind getting stoned but they have obvously missed the point of it. Anyway, if you want to I can post what was going to be my reply to "buses" so you can read it. Idea: as I spent 2,5 months travelling in India (have you read William Sutcliffe´s "Are you experienced?" ?- very funny! ) I maybe could add a section about human behavoiur in and on indian buses because that is certainly a one-of-a-kind experience (or once in a lifetime..) Also, there are not many places where they have double-deck buses, so this may also make a difference in choosing seat. Tourists coming to London, for example, will certainly run for the top level.

Chodá haféz; CCG.

A bong with just Baccy, sounds awful, I think I would have laughed till I puked!!

Buses- Feel justified playing your personnel stereo loud as this will help to counteract the noise of empty lucozade bottle that will no doubt be rolling around lose on the floor.

Good Start

Funny that I should come across this posting, because this morning I changed my place in the train after about 6 minutes. What I am writing here applies to buses in the region of Northrhein-Westfalia in Germany, I don´t know if it´s the same in other countries as well.
1) "there is the double seat rule that states having a seat to your own beats sitting next to an old women who smells of wee". But even if YOU don´t mind sharing a seat, you still assume that others DO and prefer you not seating yourself next to them if there still is a double seat available. People show this by placing their bags and backpacks on the empty seat beside them. In school buses, younger kids sometimes are too shy to ask/demand the person to let them sit down, especially if it´s an older teenager. Also, the request may be turned down with the reply that they are "keeping the seat" for somebody still to come, which then is accepted if you are not confident enough to tell them you don´t give a s**t and simply sit down. On their backpack, if it be so. You must understand that school buses become a mini society with a hirachy structure as roughly the same people travel together for 5 days a week for some years. In school buses the age of passengers increases moving from the front to the back, the last back row being the place where the really annoying, wannabe-cool loudmouth teens sit and talk about smoking pot or insult each other and/or fellow passengers.
2) "Some go to the back some right to the front." As I said, in school buses the age of passengers increases moving from the front to the back. In normal buses this is mostly not the case, as older people tend to place themselves in the front half of the bus. As in church, when there are few people on board there tends to be a gap of empty seats (about 2 rows) immediately behind the driver. Maybe people are afraid he is lonely and will start a conversation, forcing them to ignore the "don´t speak to the busdriver"-sign up front. Then again, there are people who deperately seek someone to talk to and place themselves way up front to victimize the poor chauffeur since he, unlike the other passengers, can´t get up and leave.
One may also want to take into acount such factors as
- heat and light. No one wants melt fom sitting on the sunny side of a bus (if you know the route well and it basically goes in one direction you can determine the side while getting in). Also, in the evenings when it is dark the buses are not always fully lit. The part behind the driver is usually dark, so if one wants to sleep that is where you go. If on the other hand you want to read or write, you`ll opt for a place under a lamp.
- doors. If you are sitting close to the doors, you will in the winter constantly suffer drafts of cold air as people enter and exit. And there will be more noise and activity disturbing you.
3) "others sit down then decide for some unknown reason that baffles me to move to another seemingly identical seat." Well it SEEMS that way. But there are several factors influencing this matter as well.
- your neighbours. You might sit down without looking around and then find yourself opposite an old geezer who can´t take his eyes off you decollté while his dirty cordroy pants start bulging disgustingly. Believe me, I´ve experienced it all. Also, you may be getting bad vibes from people around you, that happens to me sometimes as I hate to be stared at or when people take up a lot of space and get too close. You simply feel uncomfortable and wish you had chosen a different seat. Persons who then get up and move are actually quite confident, as a lot of people probably stay put and stick it out because we all know it looks weird, just as you stated.

Well, that´s how far I´ve come. Hope you like it.
Chodá haféz for now. CCG.

You should start actually writing it in the guide entry.

There are major differences between catching a bus in a economically developed country and a less developed one. With the latter it is deemed quite acceptable to find space where ever possible e.g seats, aisle, wheel arches, roof.
However in a developed country only the aisle and seats are an acceptable place in which to settle for your journey, if you were to sit on the roof or hang off the wheel arches you would be put in a small cell where doctors will look at you through a small window, even though the undeveloped world technique makes more sense.