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Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

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Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#81

Post by munin »

neom wrote: post #79
munin wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are only so many times that your morning commute can involve someone standing in your face for minutes screaming about how he's going to stab you in the chest, or you can watch some guy beat his girlfriend to a pulp in front of you.

People in suburban DC are beating their girlfriends to a pulp on the subway regularly? Uh huh... sure.

Those are the last two things that happened to me when I rode Metro, waiting for a change at l'Enfant. So, I don't know about regularly, but after that, I was done with Metro.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#82

Post by billmalarky »

dionidium wrote: post #76
wyager wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love interacting with strangers when the median interaction doesn’t involve a homeless person asking/threatening you for money. I would emphatically not describe the NYC subway as a good social experience. (Speaking from personal experience as of the last five minutes.)

If you think the NYC Subway is bad, you should try the light rail in smaller cities where most people don't use transit at all. New Yorkers have no idea how good they have it.

Once you've used the Tokyo metro it's hard to get that same sweet high on MTA. Tokyo trains are so clean the seats are able to be cushioned and the trains are always on time.

http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/51f8a431851a4701b610b25c70dfd14e/t...

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#83

Post by cgag »

jackewiehose wrote: post #70

> What’s your biggest fear? > I’m afraid I’ll die before I can upload my brain to the cloud and live forever in a video game. If you think that's a good idea you should watch "Black Mirror".

To convince me otherwise? Seemed grand to me.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#84

Post by booleandilemma »

billmalarky wrote: post #82
dionidium wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think the NYC Subway is bad, you should try the light rail in smaller cities where most people don't use transit at all. New Yorkers have no idea how good they have it.

Once you've used the Tokyo metro it's hard to get that same sweet high on MTA. Tokyo trains are so clean the seats are able to be cushioned and the trains are always on time. http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/51f8a431851a4701b610b25c70dfd14e/t...

Any material that can’t be power washed won’t work for the NYC subway.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#85

Post by perseusprime11 »

alexasmyths wrote: post #54
ordinaryperson wrote: post #45

Two years ago I got on the NYC subway, the 3 train, headed to work near Columbus Circle, and after a few recent arguments (people stepping on my feet, accidentally dumping water on me) I'd resolved to be more zen during the crowded morning rush hour. I'd just read this article ( http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2960791/Commuter-swe... ) that morning about a guy who said FU to a commuter, only to be interviewed…

Anyone who would do that has some mental health problems. That's really weird, best to just avoid and not engage. EDIT: to anyone who thinks that by 'engaging you're going to help' I suggest you're probably wrong. Someone randomly punching others, staring at them and shouting profanities is not going to be 'convinced' of anything, especially in that state. Also I'll double down and say that anyone that does that has…

I once tried to engage in a ‘Deepak Chopra’ way and asked if the person (15-17 year kid) needed any help, and started offering unsolicited advice about staying calm and being friendly to people. The situation escalated pretty quickly to the point he went crazy on the entire subway car and started using profanity against anyone who even looked at him. Note to myself: don’t engage. World is not the same as what you see in movies or tv shows.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#86

Post by dionidium »

billmalarky wrote: post #82
dionidium wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think the NYC Subway is bad, you should try the light rail in smaller cities where most people don't use transit at all. New Yorkers have no idea how good they have it.

Once you've used the Tokyo metro it's hard to get that same sweet high on MTA. Tokyo trains are so clean the seats are able to be cushioned and the trains are always on time. http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/51f8a431851a4701b610b25c70dfd14e/t...

I wouldn't compare Tokyo's transit to New York's for the same reason I wouldn't compare almost anything else in Japan to its counterpart in any city in the U.S. It's a wildly different culture. Comparisons are fun, but sort of meaningless, because no city in the States will ever be anything like any city in Japan.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#87

Post by dionidium »

booleandilemma wrote: post #84
billmalarky wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once you've used the Tokyo metro it's hard to get that same sweet high on MTA. Tokyo trains are so clean the seats are able to be cushioned and the trains are always on time. http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/51f8a431851a4701b610b25c70dfd14e/t...

Any material that can’t be power washed won’t work for the NYC subway.

To call those seats a bad idea for New York would be the understatement of the century.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#88

Post by fern12 »

crazygringo wrote: post #52
brndnmtthws wrote: post #2

This is great. People everywhere I go are incredibly friendly, especially in New York. It's always fun to take a moment, act like a human, and talk to people. Not because you want to sell them anything or buy something, but simply because being social is part of being human. One of the things that bothers me about individual automobile travel is how isolating it is. I want to interact with people and experience local…

As a response to the children comments who don't believe this... I also love the (NYC) subway when it's not completely packed. I very rarely interact with someone on the subway, but the people-watching is fascinating -- I can't think of anywhere else in the world where you can see such a cross-section of humanity, of so many races, cultures, clothing styles, income levels, and everything else. And I feel the same way…

>In the subway, it's not about interaction, but you feel a little bit more a part of humanity and all the interesting people doing all their interesting things.

I rode the Blue line in the DC metro area for 5 years, from Arlington/Alexandria to Farragut West. Coming from car-centric LA, I hated many aspects of it at first (walking on icy sidewalks, sitting next to people picking their noses, etc).

But it was a fascinating exercise in people-watching, which I love. I saw so many of the same people every day - a young man with ankylosing spondylitis (which I didn't even know of, prior to seeing him), a grumpy-looking lady who always wore black flats with no socks, even when it was snowing, etc. It was always interesting to see who gave up their seats to pregnant women, and who was too buried in their smartphone.

One time, the Blue line got stuck before the Rosslyn tunnel, and I saw one guy get so worked up about it, I thought he was going to have a meltdown. Then, there was an elderly Korean man who would get on at different stops, and start singing in Korean, and you would see people from all walks of life trying to exchange furtive glances with one another. I kind of miss it, at times.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#89

Post by khedoros1 »

dionidium wrote: post #86
billmalarky wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once you've used the Tokyo metro it's hard to get that same sweet high on MTA. Tokyo trains are so clean the seats are able to be cushioned and the trains are always on time. http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/51f8a431851a4701b610b25c70dfd14e/t...

I wouldn't compare Tokyo's transit to New York's for the same reason I wouldn't compare almost anything else in Japan to its counterpart in any city in the U.S. It's a wildly different culture. Comparisons are fun, but sort of meaningless, because no city in the States will ever be anything like any city in Japan.

Which is too bad. Using Japanese trains was wonderful (we specifically avoided traveling during the height of rush hour, though). It what I picture when I'm trying to think positively about using public transit.

Re: Who’s Sitting Next to You on the Subway? An R Train in September

#90

Post by dionidium »

khedoros1 wrote: post #89
dionidium wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't compare Tokyo's transit to New York's for the same reason I wouldn't compare almost anything else in Japan to its counterpart in any city in the U.S. It's a wildly different culture. Comparisons are fun, but sort of meaningless, because no city in the States will ever be anything like any city in Japan.

Which is too bad. Using Japanese trains was wonderful (we specifically avoided traveling during the height of rush hour, though). It what I picture when I'm trying to think positively about using public transit.

You're focusing on the trains, but it's really the culture that's different, and that extends to all kinds of things. The trains are just one example.

But that's why there's no usable information here. We don't have the Japanese culture, so we're not going to get their trains.

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