Top ten things that make me hate riding the TTC.
I am sick, which has made me angsty and rant-y.
In no particular order:
1) When the escalators don't work
So not a lazy thing. At certain places the flow of people means you have to take the broken escalator, where the steps are significantly bigger, and significantly more of a pain in the ass when you're at the end of a long day of running on three hours of sleep and four coffees.
2) Getting stuck in the no-pole void on the trains
So there's this spot right in the middle of opposite doors on the train where there are no poles. During rush hour, you'll often find yourself squished in here, and the amount of people makes it impossible to reach a pole. Maybe I just have shitty balance, but I need pole or I fall. I do. And I always seem to get stuck in that one little spot where the only thing to hold onto is the overhead bar which I am not tall enough to comfortably hold on to. What ends up happening is I attempt to position myself surfer-style (bent knees are key!) and try and stay balanced. And then when the train jolts to a stop I end up grabbing someones arm and then oh so coolly pretending that I didn't once the train stops moving.
3) People not respecting the proper stagger on bus seats
When on the bus, you are to maintain a stagger of seat-person-seat-person when not crowded enough to allow for it. This ensures that no one has to awkwardly graze anyone else, and you can put your shit on one of the empty seats. Then some jackass always comes along and sits his pompous self down beside someone (usually me it feels like) for no good reason, breaking the stagger, when they could have just as easily maintained it. If that is you, I hate you.
4) The Scarborough RT in its entirety.
5) People buying tickets who block the turnstile
Everyone feels douchey while buying tickets/tokens/a pass, and the TTC employee is slow, and people are lining up behind you, and the train/bus is pulling in. But some people manage to position themselves so those people using tickets can't get past them to the turnstile. It is possible to step back a little when buying tickets so as to allow others through! Do it!
6) Pretty much everyone getting on at Bloor station
Of all the stations, this is where people seem to be the most comfortable with forcing their bodies into the cars until no one can breathe. Remember commuters, during rush hour trains come every 1.5-2 minutes are so. You. Can. Wait.
7) People who put their bags onto empty seats during rush hour.
It's sort of funny in that everyone is too polite to ask them to move it.
8) Not moving to let others out on two-person bus seats
I couldn't figure out how to make that less wordy. Anyway. On TTC buses, there are a certain amount of two-person seats, and they are rather close behind/in front of one another. The problem arises when you're in the window seat, and you need to get off, and the person in the aisle seat simply swings their legs into the aisle. Durrr. There is not enough space to get out without giving them a lap dance. So you end up doing a super awkward shuffle dance with your ass hovering above the lazy, leg-swinging person. Point is, if you're the aisle person, get up for a sec. Unless you want a lap dance. You perv.
9) Not recognizing me as a "student"
I was all shocked that first day I slid a leftover student ticket in and the TTC lady bitched me out for not being in high school anymore. And I was all, but I'm in university. No dice. The student rates only apply to high school kids. Don't you love how once you start paying for your education, they start charging you more for transportation?
10) People who eat smelly foods
It's an enclosed space! Smells go nowhere, they just circulate and nauseate. Go with fruit, its healthy and low on smell.
