morons exiting the train
i see this pretty much on a daily basis, but finally decided to post about it as i was annoyed about other things as well.
let me start by saying that i am all for letting people off the train before i get on. same goes for elevators, etc. the problem is that i constantly see riders not even get out of their seats until after the doors open. then, as they try to fight their way through the phalanx of people entering the train, they give everyone dirty looks.
here's the deal: IF YOU ARE NOT AT THE DOORS WHEN THEY OPEN, THE "LET PEOPLE EXIT FIRST" RULE NO LONGER APPLIES. you must state your intent to exit the train by being at the doors when they open, otherwise YOU must wait for passengers to enter before you can try to exit. got it?
I agree. By the way, I
I agree. By the way, I really appreciate it when T/Os announce the destination of trains at station stops (especially in the evening). Recently I looked directly at the train destination sign, saw it wasn't my train, and got on anyway and wound up in the wrong place. Stress makes you do crazy things.
While we're talking about access courtesy, could the people who stand in the doorways on the train completely blocking the door please step off of step back or something? I've seen people stand in front of the doors facing the opposite doors and expect you to crawl over them to get off.
ohhh, i hate those people.
ohhh, i hate those people. it seems like every day there are two people in the doorway, one leaning against the side of the ADA seats on the left, one on the right. every stop they just stand there, sometimes holding their newspapers into oncoming traffic, reducing a door that could typically accomodate two lines of people into a door that can barely squeeze one person. step out of the train and get back on once everyone has exited!
here's the deal: IF YOU ARE
here's the deal: IF YOU ARE NOT AT THE DOORS WHEN THEY OPEN, THE "LET PEOPLE EXIT FIRST" RULE NO LONGER APPLIES. you must state your intent to exit the train by being at the doors when they open, otherwise YOU must wait for passengers to enter before you can try to exit. got it?
>I agree, especially since the trains come to a smooth stop every time! It's not like there's an excuse that you could lose your balance.
By the way, I really appreciate it when T/Os announce the destination of trains at station stops (especially in the evening). Recently I looked directly at the train destination sign, saw it wasn't my train, and got on anyway and wound up in the wrong place. Stress makes you do crazy things.
>I always wondered why they would announce the destination of the train when they were at stations, but I guess this is why. Though I can see how it might be confusing for out of towners because sometimes the TO's just say the destination station such as "Fremont" instead of "Fremont TRAIN" or "Fremont BOUND TRAIN". I could see how people could think they might already be at the Fremont stop.
Another thing I noticed is there really is no big notice to give passengers that they need to transfer when the Richmond-Daly City line isn't running. It really is only denoted in the timetable and the occasional announcement on the electronic platform displays. Hopefully they put in some sort of designation in the system map that the Richmond-Daly City and Fremont-Daly City lines don't run all night or Sundays. I think it's a little misleading to put a solid red and green line on the system map, most would assume that means it runs during the normal service hours that the all the other lines run.
There's also an announcement
There's also an announcement that plays on a 7-minute cycle.
"Attention passengers... there is no direct Richmond, or Fremont service at this time. For passengers going to... blah blah blah"
Complete with transfer instructions.
And that goes along with noticing how there is no ETA for R trains on the big red signs.
big red
big red signs
???????????
jbap21
Brain fart.... Sheesh. The
Brain fart.... Sheesh. The Destination signs!
"I agree, especially since
"I agree, especially since the trains come to a smooth stop every time! It's not like there's an excuse that you could lose your balance."
well, what are the people entering the train supposed to do? wait a few seconds, then peek in, then shout "ok, i'm coming in. apologies in advance if i block your exit!"
sure, the stops are not always the smoothest, but that is why there are those nifty handrails. BTW, i ALWAYS stand at the door for the last 1/4 mile or so of my trip, and i have NEVER held a handrail (except in very crowded cars) and have NEVER fallen over either. can't be that rough of a stop.
As for the smooth stops, I
As for the smooth stops, I don't have a problem with them but I've felt some pretty hard ones when the train is on manual mode. Also, it's much harder to balance if you have a heavy bag or something so I don't blame people for wanting to hang on.
Bart stops are NOTHING like the green line trolley I used to take in Philly. I once watched someone fly backwards about 4 feet onto their ass when they failed to grab the handbar fast enough after boarding. The drivers took great glee in slamming the accellerator immediately after the doors shut, probably to see if they could get you to fling your remaining fare across the trolley to save your skin.
My rule of thumb is to stand
My rule of thumb is to stand to the side to allow people to exit the train, but as soon as the stream of exiting people stops for a second or two then I'm going in. There is a steady stream of people exiting because they were all prepared to exit. I'm pretty sure the slow exiting people could do it if they wanted, but they're just too slow or lazy.
The only time that it's remotely hard to balance while stopping is when the train operator stops too soon and has to lurch forward a little bit and reposition to line up. I'll give you a hint: flexing your knees slightly instead of locking them will help a lot. Even the most lurchy stops and starts on BART are not that bad, especially if you're holding a hand rail. If you really can't walk to the exit as the train pulls into the station from your seat in the middle of the car then maybe you should sit nearer to the exit.
My personal time to exit is when I see the lights of the station. Even on the last car this still usually gives enough time to get to the door before it opens.