Last week I talked about driver courtesy, but most days as a bus rider it’s the common courtesy — or lack thereof — of other passengers that can make taking the bus a treat or a trial.
I am now in my last few weeks of pregnancy with my first baby, and since I have been noticeably showing, taking the bus has become a bit of an adventure.
Luckily for me, my regular routes are rarely so packed that I can’t find a seat, but even when a spot up front — in the seats reserved for pregnant women, elderly or disabled persons or people with young children — is available or offered to me I still feel uncomfortable taking it.
And I am a bit of a contradiction, I realize, because even though I still don’t consider myself in need of these seats, and would usually rather sit closer to the back door, I get irked when people look directly at my pregnant belly, yet decline to offer me a seat.
I know I can’t have it both ways, but I figure just because I don’t want to sit up front doesn’t mean you shouldn’t offer.
The reason I would rather not take up these seats is that inevitably someone who needs the space more than I do will board and I will need to move back anyway.
Leaving these seats for the people who need them most is a logical bus rule and one that most people really shouldn’t have any trouble obeying.
Instead, these people are busy reading their books, playing with their phones, or just feeling entitled to park their butts wherever they want without concern for anyone else.
I find these inconsiderate seat-takers only slightly less annoying than the big bag and backpack wearers who deem it necessary to stand in the aisle and whack riders’ faces every time they shift position or turn to talk to a friend. It’s only common sense that on a crowded bus your giant bag is better suited to be held in front of you, yet I rarely see anyone take them off.
I am sure I’ve committed my own discourtesies in my many years as a bus rider, as I do believe most people act this way not to be malicious but because they are simply unaware. And I’ve probably become more aware of rider courtesy since me and my growing belly now take up extra space on the bus.
My own pledge to courtesy is to try to keep my strollers small and out of the way, or carry my baby in a sling, and to not let my diaper bag smack you in the face as I pass down the aisle.
