Top 5 Weird Public Transit Moments- #3: The Crowded Morning Bus

 Last September, my boyfriend and I were taking a trip to New York. Since we were only going for a few days, and New York is… well… New York, we wanted to squeeze in as much time as we possibly could. That’s why we decided to leave early on a Sunday morning.

      This is off topic, but I had that Jay-Z and Alicia Keys song the whole vacation. I felt like I was in a really cheesy, boring montage from the 80s.

     Anyway, that also meant that in order to get to Billy Bishop Airport in time, we needed to take a night bus as the subway was still closed for the night. Yeah, we left just as cool, social people who aren’t afraid of dancing in public were on their way home.

     So we get on this bus, and of course it’s packed since one only comes every so often. By boyfriend and I compact into approximately one cubic inch like everyone else and we ride this thing for twenty minutes near the back- yes, that’s important to the story. It was some of the most uncomfortable time I’ve spent on a bus, as I have a very large personal bubble. It might even be classified as a hot air balloon at this point. My point is, it’s large and in charge! Just like my butt.

     After these twenty minutes of being too close to dirty strangers on a stinky thick-aired bus, a gentleman comes on and announces at the top of his voice, “I am a disabled man. Can I have a seat?”

     No one moves. I thought to myself, “this poor man, who has to announce to a bus full of strangers that he struggles to stand, does not get his simple wish fulfilled.”

     After a few good, solid minutes, someone stands and lets him sit down, but this seat was not the closest to him. As the bus begins moving again, this guy has to push past a crowd to get to the seat. Oh, and did I mention he was disabled?!

     It was a weird way to start my day, a weird way to start my vacation, and a weird way for people to treat each other. If you’re reading this, and later in your life a disabled person, a pregnant person, or an elderly person gets on a bus with no seats nearby, get your butt up and burn some calories doing so

Top 5 Weird Public Transit Moments- #5: The Streetcar Brawl

 Being around, or involved in a fight in any way is one of the most stupid and annoying things to me. That’s why, despite being a typical, “Oh my god, a fight broke out on the TTC and it was soooooooooooooo crazy,” kind of story, this has made my list of my Top 5 Weirdest Public Transit Moments.

     It was a warm summer night, and I was on my way home with my boyfriend. We were on a streetcar on a ride that takes about 45 min to get home, and about 35 minutes into the ride, two intoxicated groups of young people decided it was the right time to mark their territory…WITH BLOOD!

      No, not really. It was likely that they were fighting over something a lot more important, like the strife of third nation countries, their desire to raise their status with a booming economy and how they can achieve that goal. That, or you know, whose boyfriend was hotter.

      So here my boyfriend and I are, sitting far enough away that we’re not involved with the tussle, but close enough to be annoyed by them. Eventually the streetcar stops, and the operator calls the police. The brawling hoodlums try to flee to the street, still yelling at each other, but the cops stop them and begin questioning them. While this is happening, our transportation remains still. It sits there for a good ten minutes before we decide to just get out and walk.

      We had to walk past the angry youth, past the cops, and past the scene. We walked for over half an hour, which honestly wasn’t that bad considering it was a nice night and I do a lot of walking on the regular, but it was the fact that these hooligans mucked around and ruined our pleasant atmosphere that was annoying.

     Also, they actually starting ripping each others’ clothes, like in the movies, and I got an objectionable eyeful. Actually, scrap the atmosphere thing, seeing people’s personals on a streetcar is what made this situation weird for me.

     For any of you reading this and have a similar story, please feel free to share it in the comments! I would love to hear your weird public transit stories if you’ve got ‘em. Remember, sharing is caring, and I care a lot.