Subway and Bus Etiquette

To commute to work every day during breaks from school, I have to go from northern Virginia to Washington, DC. To get there in the most environmentally friendly and cost effective manner, I take the bus, which takes me to the Metro (subway), which puts me in walking distance of my job.

Throughout my travels on the Metro and bus systems, I have encountered many questionable etiquette situations. The one situation that I really dislike is the seating arrangements. These simply reek of awkwardness, and give me the urge to curl up in the fetal position. Just kidding. Kind of.

Chivalry Code of Seating: Young Man vs. Old Man vs. Young Woman vs. Older Woman

Seating on public transit has always been an affair of chivalry. And although chivalry is one of the coolest things since sliced bread, it also happens to create MASS AWKWARDNESS. The situation on the Metro usually goes as such. A young guy sits down when the train is not crowded, then the train gets crowded after a few stops and someone of a priority rank for seating (handicapped, older, or female; according to chivalry) is standing near him because all of the seats are taken. He should now give up his seat. Unfortunately a few different things can happen:

1. He offers his seat and the other person accepts. He now feels ultra cool. This is the ideal situation.
2. He offers his seat and the other person says no. Now he is embarrassed and doesn’t know what to say. This is even worse when the other person appears confused as to why he is offering the seat. Staring down at the floor is his best choice now.
3. He abandons chivalry and refuses to offer the seat by ignoring all around. Probably feels awkward and afraid that someone will request the seat in the near future.

It’s also awkward for the average young man when there are a few people around that look like they want a seat but he is not sure who to offer it to. Take for instance, an old man and a middle-aged woman. If he offers it to the woman she could say: “no way, give it to this old dude,” and the young man will be embarrassed. Or, if he offers it to the old man, the old man could come right back and say: “give it to the lady you dingus.” Ahhh!

Because of this, I usually end up standing the entire way even if there are seats available. I once offered a seat to a woman who gave me a weird look and asked why I was offering her the seat. Ever since I have been afraid of the seats unless I can get one not directly next to the aisle, so I have a one person barrier blocking me from offering seats.