Hands in the air! Wave em’ like you just don’t care!
In what seems to be my continuing series on public transportation, one thing that I’ve noticed is that a lot of people on the bus seem to have trouble getting off at the back door. Consider this my Public Service Announcement.
People, pounding on the door and screaming at the bus driver is not necessary. I’ve seen plenty of people (mainly men, mind you, who go completely berserk because the back door doesn’t open. Here’s a tip: the back door is operated by a motion detector - much like the ones that turn water on in bathroom sinks. All you have to do is 1) wait for the green light above the door to light up, signalling that the motion detector is activated. 2) wave your hand anywhere near the center of the door which is the area located directly under the motion detector. Presto! Open sesame! The doors will part like magic or the Red Sea if you like to be dramatic. You don’t even have to touch those nasty handle bars. Now that you know how to get off a public bus, quit pushing me if I’m standing RIGHT in front of the door. It means I’m getting off too - so back off buddy. Thank you.
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Hehe, I’ve seen plenty of people pounding on the doors, too (and not just men =P). Seems to me that it’s not always because they’re clueless, at times, I’m sure it’s because they’re impatient. The doors simply aren’t opening quickly enough for them.
Our society today is built for speed in many ways, but perhaps that’s a topic for another blog post…
Yeah, every time I see that (almost daily), I think, “What is this, your first time on a Montreal bus?”
It really isn’t that complicated. Especially with the instructions printed right there!
The banging on the door with one’s fists always makes me smirk.
I think it’s just a general Montreal public transit problem. It must be the same cluelessness that makes people on the the platforms try to shove their way on the metro before letting anyone get OFF.
On our recent visit to Montreal, I had to tell my first-timer husband, “Getting on the Montreal Metro isn’t like getting on the DC Metro. People shove their way on the trains as soon as the doors open. And there’s no warning signal that the doors are closing.” We got a nice chuckle out of the fact that Washingtonians are more polite than Montrealers in one way (though you have us beat in every other category).
It’s nice to hear, though, that you have the same issues with busees that we have (even though we don’t have motion detectors).