Monday, September 9, 2013

#CivilTransit: Tips on using transit from New York city

Last month I posted a question on Twitter asking people what the most annoying thing a fellow rider could do while on OC Transpo. It's part of my embryonic #CivilTransit project, a (probably misguided) project to inform people of just how irritating their behaviour can be in order to make the transit experience more enjoyable for everyone.

Responses to my Twitter poll included many things you'd expect. The most serious of infractions was harassment, an issue that's been in the news for some time and was mentioned by a few respondents. Less illegal (but still obnoxious) infractions included listening to music absurdly loud, blocking the aisle when there's room at the back, talking loudly on cell phones, back-door boarding on buses not equipped for it, putting feet on seats, and running after 95s in rush hour (you know, when the next one is no more than five minutes away).

Along a similar vein, New York City-based artist Nathan Pile recently released a bunch of fun, animated .GIF images that demonstrate "basic tips and etiquette" for visitors or residents of his place of residence. They're all funny, but the transit-related ones apply as well to Ottawa as they do to New York.

For instance, regarding your music: Here's a failsafe way to determine whether it's actually obnoxiously loud...




Also, something that I experienced recently, here's a way to determine if the food you're considering eating on the bus is inappropriate...



If you're not aware who the Courtesy Seating section is intended for, this should help...



And finally, here's a demonstration of how illogical it is to jump on the bus before allowing others to make their way off of it...



Shortly after publishing his cartoons on Imgur (here and here), Pyle got a call from a publisher asking to turn his tips into a book--which is scheduled for publication in April 2014. Hopefully his cartoons make people more aware of their surroundings on public transit.

And if you like his stuff, you can like Pyle on Facebook.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

These are really great and totally relevant to Ottawa too. I find most of my fellow riders very respectful but the odd one can make a trip uncomfortable for sure.