Quiet Car
I don't do this, as I prefer the window seat, but I do not agree that sitting in the aisle seat is selfish. One can prefer the aisle and sit there. There is no obligation to sit in the window seat.
Sitting in the aisle seat and putting stuff in the window seat is another matter.
jimmurphy said:
I don't do this, as I prefer the window seat, but I do not agree that sitting in the aisle seat is selfish. One can prefer the aisle and sit there. There is no obligation to sit in the window seat.
Sitting in the aisle seat and putting stuff in the window seat is another matter.
I agree. Even when I know the train will be filled I do not like the window seat because more likely than not someone will take up more than their space and I feel trapped, crushed and uncomfortable (and a bit annoyed). I also like to get up and be near the exit (even though I'm now exiting at more civilized Hoboken).
What I never do is put stuff in the window seat and am REALLY ready to stand up and have the person sit in very efficiently so there is not much of a delay in all getting seated. Yes, it does delay a bit if all or most do it but as said above if you're first you get to choose. I find when I do that a normal sized person sits at the window or even a large person who knows to contain himself. 
bramzzoinks said:
I love how NJT conductors disappear except to take tickets. Where do they go? Do the have some hidden chamber? Or an invisibility cloak?
When the train is packed, the conductor has to try to tour his entire allotment of cars in order to punch tickets. This must be done at every stop. I have been in cars during weekend holiday rush when the conductor never made it to the car I was in. YIPPEE !! Free ride.
Anyways, it is not unreasonable that you wouldn't see the conductor during rush hour.
Regarding conductors not enforcing rules, conductors have been assaulted on N.J.T. trains. Asshollery is not confined to the roads.
jimmurphy said:
I don't do this, as I prefer the window seat, but I do not agree that sitting in the aisle seat is selfish. One can prefer the aisle and sit there. There is no obligation to sit in the window seat.
Sitting in the aisle seat and putting stuff in the window seat is another matter.
the thing is, like many behaviors, it's no big deal if one person does it. the issue in the morning is that EVERY person does it. and it makes boarding a pain in the ass for everyone.
ml1 said:
jimmurphy said:
I don't do this, as I prefer the window seat, but I do not agree that sitting in the aisle seat is selfish. One can prefer the aisle and sit there. There is no obligation to sit in the window seat.
Sitting in the aisle seat and putting stuff in the window seat is another matter.
the thing is, like many behaviors, it's no big deal if one person does it. the issue in the morning is that EVERY person does it. and it makes boarding a pain in the ass for everyone.
EVERY person takes the aisle seat and leaves the window seat open? That has not been my experience at all.
jimmurphy said:
ml1 said:
jimmurphy said:
I don't do this, as I prefer the window seat, but I do not agree that sitting in the aisle seat is selfish. One can prefer the aisle and sit there. There is no obligation to sit in the window seat.
Sitting in the aisle seat and putting stuff in the window seat is another matter.
the thing is, like many behaviors, it's no big deal if one person does it. the issue in the morning is that EVERY person does it. and it makes boarding a pain in the ass for everyone.
EVERY person takes the aisle seat and leaves the window seat open? That has not been my experience at all.
yup. Front car on the 7:01, every morning. I started boarding at the back because the front car was such a pain.
Vivaldo said:
I love the Quiet Car! I always work on the train and find it difficult to work if someone is talking on the phone or having a conversation.
But, for the life of me, I still don't understand why some passengers feel entitled to take up two seats by sitting on the outside of an empty two-seater. It just slows everyone else down and makes them look like jerks. Yes, I know this topic has been amply covered here, and that some people claim they have good reasons to do it (long legs, getting off at next stop), but I feel strongly it is selfish behavior.
I usually take the outside seat because I don't want to have to disturb someone to get up - and S. Orange is the second stop on the train home. I slide over if I recognize the person is someone who is also getting off at S. Orange. Nothing to do with feeling entitled since I know every seat on the train will eventually be filled.
ml1 said:
yup. Front car on the 7:01, every morning. I started boarding at the back because the front car was such a pain.
Wow,
Guess the people in the front *really* value getting off the train quickly! Can't wait for that person in the aisle seat to get up.
Glad you found a solution that works.
jimmurphy said:
ml1 said:
yup. Front car on the 7:01, every morning. I started boarding at the back because the front car was such a pain.
Wow,
Guess the people in the front *really* value getting off the train quickly! Can't wait for that person in the aisle seat to get up.
Glad you found a solution that works.
that's precisely what a guy on the train told me. He was in too much of a hurry departing the train to ever sit in the window seat.
but again, it's ok if a handful of people get up and stand by the door before the train gets to Penn. But what if EVERYONE decided to stand up and walk to the front at the same time?
If I know I will not have a seat to myself, I prefer the outside seat. I feel claustrophobic otherwise. But that's just a weird age quirk... Never had it until fairly recently.
it is not my experience that everyone prefers the outside- I see many take the window seat. In any case, I think you get there first, you get to pick.
Window seat forever. Nothing makes me more miserable than having to sit on the aisle.
Never underestimate the misery of the time it takes to shuffle out of Penn Station from the back end of the train. (That said, the passengers in the quiet car at that end are lovely people.)
qrysdonnell said:
Window seat forever. Nothing makes me more miserable than having to sit on the aisle.
My preference isn't as strong, but I prefer window seats. Maybe it's because I'm thin. I don't mind being crowded by a stranger's body most of the time, but I understand that others do.
I wonder if the quiet car would have more success being quiet if there were also a parlor car with a bar serving drinks and most of the car were standing room, i.e. it had fewer seats.
I'm not thin, but my reasoning is that I prefer to have a solid wall to lean up against as opposed to possibly having people bashing into me in the aisle. More noticeable on planes where I'd end up with the carts banging into my knees and people constantly brushing my shoulders. The wall is predictable.
Tom_Reingold said:
qrysdonnell said:
Window seat forever. Nothing makes me more miserable than having to sit on the aisle.
My preference isn't as strong, but I prefer window seats. Maybe it's because I'm thin. I don't mind being crowded by a stranger's body most of the time, but I understand that others do.
I wonder if the quiet car would have more success being quiet if there were also a parlor car with a bar serving drinks and most of the car were standing room, i.e. it had fewer seats.
The quiet car is successful 99% of the time. Only occasionally does somebody ruin it for everyone, and even then almost always a polite reminder is enough. Really I can only think of a few times when somebody has refused to pipe down after being nicely informed of the rules. Most infringers genuinely don't know they're in the quiet car. Very occasionally somebody with a weird hostility to the concept will push back, for reasons that continue to escape me (this whole "it's not the silent car!" silliness). But most people are nice and decent and just want to do the right thing.
In general, I've found that all of these "issues," including aisle-seat sitters, bag-on-seat placers, etc., can almost always be easily handled by just being nice rather than acting like a jerk. Not always. But usually.
Tom_Reingold said:
I wonder if the quiet car would have more success being quiet if there were also a parlor car with a bar serving drinks and most of the car were standing room, i.e. it had fewer seats.
imonlysleeping said:
The quiet car is successful 99% of the time. Only occasionally does somebody ruin it for everyone, and even then almost always a polite reminder is enough. Really I can only think of a few times when somebody has refused to pipe down after being nicely informed of the rules. Most infringers genuinely don't know they're in the quiet car. Very occasionally somebody with a weird hostility to the concept will push back, for reasons that continue to escape me (this whole "it's not the silent car!" silliness). But most people are nice and decent and just want to do the right thing.
In general, I've found that all of these "issues," including aisle-seat sitters, bag-on-seat placers, etc., can almost always be easily handled by just being nice rather than acting like a jerk. Not always. But usually.
Tom_Reingold said:
I wonder if the quiet car would have more success being quiet if there were also a parlor car with a bar serving drinks and most of the car were standing room, i.e. it had fewer seats.
Concurred. Shout out to the back car morning crew.
I mentioned this once a couple of years ago. And it seemed like nobody agreed with me, and a bunch of people jumped in to say why they feel entitled to do it. So I guess it's only you and I who think it's annoying and selfish. I stopped boarding at the front of the train in the morning precisely because it seemed as if almost every guy (and they were almost always guys) in every row was seated in the aisle seat. Boarding was such a pain when almost all the people boarding couldn't just sit down in a seat, without having to ask someone to move.