Being a good traveller on public transport

Being a good traveller on public transport is what most of the Pindiites often forget? Exceptions are of course always there. Noisy phone ring tones, loud music and even private talk are extremely irksome on the city public transport.

“I get really annoyed. Loud music can make the everyday journey annoying. Riding a public transport vehicle to work is not at all pleasant. As a user of public transport, the thought to quit travel by public transport has burst into my head more than once, but unfortunately, buying a bike or car is not within my financial capacity,” says Ghazanfar Ali.

“When the public transport is on the move, things get a little anti-social. On an early-morning wagon ride recently, three guys sitting behind me decided to really make themselves feel at home and started eating something smelly consisting of leaking bread slices, followed by some music on a mobile phone for the rest of the journey, says Iftikhar Hussain Shah.

“One of them after having listened to the music decided for a hearty chat with a friend. He was utterly indifferent to the embarrassment he was causing to the other passengers around him,” adds Iftikhar.

Rifat Hasan says: “Once I got onto the public transport and easily got the seat as there was no rush at the designated stop. The travel was pretty much peaceful. But the peace did not last long as what I heard was repeated laughter behind me and noticed a man watching a video on android phone without headphones on.”

"Travel is meant to be relaxing, but it becomes a bit irritating sometimes as there's really no escape from it. I think that our society has become a little more self-centred, and travel brings out the worst in some of us, says Mureed Kazmi.

“We've travelled a lot on public transport for years without too much inconvenience. There were no such irritants in the past. To my mind, it's the result of several things like smartphones, and we have not yet figured out how bothersome they are to others. Modern life with technology has brought this change,” says Naveed Hussain.

“The concerned authorities should take steps to ensure that public transport etiquette is at least encouraged. With the objective to reinforce the premise that people should be nicer to their fellow passengers,” says Iqbal Jafri.

“Although traveling inside Rawalpindi city is often less-than-ideal but if someone is inconsiderate, a little politeness on your part goes a long way. By and large, if you are to say to someone that they need to turn down the volume of music on a device, the majority of people will be happy to do so," adds Iqbal.