Public Spaces

One thing I've noticed since I started riding public transit is just how polite and courteous most subway/bus riders are. This stands in sharp contrast with solo drivers in this burg, a good many of whom seem either oblivious to the presence of their fellow motorists, or who are simply contemptuous of them. These diverging behaviors, I think, arise out of the demands of each respective transit mode: riding in a bus or a subway train, for instance, requires a level of direct social interaction with other people that driving by yourself in an enclosed vehicle simply doesn't. Combine that isolation with, say, a three-hour commute each day, and it's easy to see over time how people can become alienated from their peers, which erodes their social skills and generally makes them less happy. It's a fairly compelling argument for expanding public transit, no?

---Baron V