10 Things We Hate About Public Transport in Ireland

Public transport is something people use every day all over the country but like everything in life, it’s not perfect. In fact, it’s far from it.

To show you what we mean, here are our top ten public transport grievances…

1. The person in front of you takes forever to buy their ticket

So you’ve got your money at the ready, the Luas has just pulled up in time for you to get it and there’s only one person in front of you in the queue. It’s like the stars have aligned and it’s meant to be. Except for one little thing. The person in front of you hasn’t got their money ready, doesn’t really know where they’re going and has made you miss the Luas. Sad times.

2. Somebody coughs/sneezes in your personal space

It’s happened to everyone. You’re sitting in your seat minding your own business on your way to wherever you’re going. Then all of a sudden you feel something on the back of your neck. And no it’s not water. It’s somebody who has decided not to cover their mouth when they felt a sneeze coming on. No wonder when one person gets sick, everyone gets sick!

3. You’re had a long day and the person next to you starts talking to you

Finally you’re on the bus home after a long, tiring and stressful day. In fact you’re fighting to stay awake. This is the moment the person next to you decides to start a full-blown conversation about the state of the economy. Yes it is crap but I’d rather not talk about it right now. And it’s not that we want to be rude and just not talk, we just really don’t have the energy to speak at all about anything.

4. People stand in the walkway so you can’t get past them

By all means they should stand in the walkway when they are about to get off but it is just plain stupid to stand in it for the duration of the bus journey. Firstly it’s preventing other people from getting by to get off the bus. Secondly seats are available because other people are getting off. Thirdly it makes it difficult for the person standing there because they have to try and move. Don’t get it all!

5. The person next to you plays their music really loudly

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of music. But when the entire Luas can hear the lyrics of ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’ it’s simply too loud? Listening to music just isn’t necessary or healthy for that matter.  And besides what if an alarm goes off or somebody shouts something important, how can people expect to know what’s going on around them? So that’s unlikely but still, it could happen.

6. Someone sits next to you even though there are lots of free seats

The entire bus is empty and somebody gets on. They could sit in any seat they want but no, that won’t do, they have to sit next to you. And you can’t do anything about it because it’s too obvious to get up and sit somewhere else. That’s right, clench your teeth and smile politely.

7. You ask someone to move their bag and they give you an evil look

This situation is a whole different story. There are no other seats and you’re getting off at one of the last stops so you need to sit down. It’s not unreasonable for you to ask that person to move their tiny handbag. But in their mind it clearly is. In fact by their reaction, which is often an evil look, you’d think you’d just said they were the ugliest person in the world. We sort of wish we had now.

8. Somebody shouts their conversation so that everyone can hear it

It’s not that we don’t want to know what’s going on in the life of a complete stranger… actually no, that’s exactly it! You would think someone wouldn’t want you to know that they’re sick of going out with their other half or have had just gotten some bad news from the doctor. Low and behold they want the whole world to know. Well that’s what it seems like from the volume of their conversation.

9. The person next to you obviously starts reading your paper or text

This is just one of those times when you think what on earth is going on here? And it’s not like the person is trying to hide the fact that they are reading what you are reading. They are blatantly staring even when you look up at them to see what they’re problem is. Words can’t describe how intrusive this feels. Well actually they just did.

10. Someone brings a terrible smell on the bus

It could be anything from a hundred different perfumes to a packet of cheesy crisps to the smell of a heavy drinking session. Smells are a huge problem on public transport and unfortunately unlike the other things on this list, they can’t always be avoided. Guess we can’t have it all.