Friday 6 May 2011

One.Size.Fits.All

I'm sure you've noticed, when riding any mode of public transit, that all passenger seats are the same size. Sure on planes and some trains you can upgrade to a more spacious seat, and there are always some seats that are smaller, but in general they're uniform. What I'm wondering is why are the seats one size fits all when the people that use them every day clearly are not.

I would say that I'm an average size girl, but I have a large personal space bubble.  I don't enjoy sharing leg room with the person sat across from me, nor do I enjoy sharing an arm rest with the person sat next to me.  These are things I've gotten used to doing daily all for love of the daily commute. Scratch that. All for the love of not having to drive into work!

There are some days that my bubble is put to the test. I mean I've gotten used to sharing and all but there are days other commuters really push the boundaries.  And I know I'm not alone in feeling this way.

For example, on this mornings commute a rather tall fellow sat across from me. His legs were so long, I feel like his pants would have had to been custom made. He would put a daddy long leg to shame.  Anyway, when he sat down, first thing he did was step on my foot. Then as he apologized for that he stood on the other foot.  I started to get annoyed but then I started to feel bad for him.  I mean I wonder how many peoples feet he steps on in a week because there is simply not enough leg room for him.  I decided to be a nice quad mate and tuck my feet under my seat so he can sit comfortably with his legs stretched out a little. He smiled as his way of saying thanks.  And I felt good about my decision to share.

That was a scenario that didn't cause too much aggravation but believe me there are other bubble busters that are hard to deal with for the entire train ride. Like, the passenger who is above average in size and decides to squish in between the window and the person sitting in the isle. I've been there and see the looks. It makes everyone in the quad a little uncomfortable.  Then there is the passenger who enjoys reading the paper full sized and wide open.  You know the one. They hold they're arms up nice and high and nice and wide.  I've been so close to their fists, at times, that I've worried about getting hit if the train gets really bumpy.  Last but not least, are the baggage carriers. I'll be honest I've done my fair share of bringing way too much with me on the train. And trust me, I see the looks I get.  It's sad to say but I give the looks too when I trip over someone's bag in the isle, or when it's hogging up all the leg room.

I guess there's no real point to this story just a simple gripe about the make up of public transit vehicles. I mean people come in all different shapes and sizes. They all have different ways of commuting to and fro. So why is it that the seating doesn't accommodate at least some of these differences.

Lesson the be learned; be cautions of your surroundings during your daily commute. Ask yourself "am I popping someone's personal bubble?"

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