‘Train courtesy has gotten so much worse’—SG commuter calls out ‘door blockers,’ backpack wearers and passengers who won’t move in

SINGAPORE: Peak-hour MRT journeys are rarely anyone’s idea of a pleasant commute, but one Singaporean says the crush of passengers is made even more frustrating by commuters who seem to abandon basic public transport etiquette the moment the trains get busy.

Taking to Reddit to air her grievances, the commuter said she simply needed to “vent” after growing increasingly irritated by the same behaviours she encounters on her journey to work every morning.

“Why do people completely forget basic MRT etiquette the moment peak hour hits?” she asked in a post on r/asksg, before highlighting what she considered the three most irritating habits among fellow commuters.

At the top of her list were the so-called “door blockers.”

She claimed that as soon as the train doors open, commuters waiting on the platform can be quick to rush inside, even when passengers are still trying to get off.

According to her, some “aunties and uncles” waiting outside would charge into the carriage “like it’s a clearance sale,” leaving those already on board struggling to make their way out.

For her, the problem was not simply that people were eager to get onto the train. It was that some appeared unwilling to give passengers enough time and space to alight first.

Her second gripe was with commuters who board the train but stop almost immediately by the doors instead of moving further into the carriage.

“There’s space in the middle of the train, but everyone is squished like sardines near the doors because nobody wants to move inner,” she wrote.

During peak periods, she argued, this can make an already crowded carriage feel even more cramped, particularly when passengers congregate around the entrances while leaving relatively more room further inside.

And then came her third pet peeve: commuters who keep their backpacks strapped to their backs.

“Don’t get me started [on them],” she wrote. “Huge 15-inch laptop bags are still strapped on their backs, taking up space for two whole people and swinging into everyone's faces every time the train brakes.”

“Take down your bag and put it on the floor or hold it in front. So hard, meh?” she said. “Is it just me, or has train courtesy gotten so much worse recently? Really damn annoying every morning before work.”

‘You can't fix this with courtesy campaigns’

Judging by the responses, many other commuters seemed to share her concerns.

One Singaporean Redditor who’s quite familiar with Singapore’s notoriously crowded peak-hour journeys wrote in the comments section: “It's a daily battle on the train. Feels like I have to fight.”

Others found that, among those she listed, backpack wearers were the worst.

One said, “OMG, the backpack wearers. Sometimes I have this urge to ask them to put their bags down.”

Another commented, “The backpack wearers with no spatial awareness are the worst. Kana hit by the backpacks more times than I can count when they swing left and right. Also times when the back is fully packed already and they continue reversing without turning behind and looking and crush the people behind them with their backpacks.”

A few, however, contended that these behaviours are nothing new.

One user explained, “You weren't paying attention; it's always been like this, even on buses. The ones rushing in are trying to score seats. The ones standing at doorways hate pushing through crowds while alighting.”

“The common thread is everyone is selfish. You can't fix this with courtesy campaigns. The only way to fix the underlying problem is with education at a young age, to teach them to be mindful of others. The older gens are a lost cause.”/TISG

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