Washington Metro train
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

People Who Block Doors of Trains and Other Conveyances

s a probable extension of the inexplicable phenomenon of people congregating in doorways, there are also people who block doors of trains and other conveyances — no matter what, in some cases.

“I board the train at concourse D for a ride over to B and move toward the rear of the train. At the C stop, two women get on and stand right in front of the door with their two roll on cases placed lengthwise between them directly in front of me. When we stop at B, they just stand there blocking the length of the door. I asked them to please move so I could get out and one told me they had to get off at A and I had to use the door at the other end of the train car. I just got a good roll on my bag and shoved it between their two bags and went out while they were trying to keep their bags from rolling out the door.”

That example was imparted by FlyerTalk member makeUturn, whose experience occurred aboard the train which transport people to different concourses at the international airport which serves the greater Atlanta metropolitan area — and other FlyerTalk members not only relate their experiences; but also express their frustrations.

“And of course people standing at the door not allowing people to exit before they try to enter the train”, posted FlyerTalk member mridley2. “Often times they’ll just rush on and push people over who are trying to exit. I have more than once given someone a body check when they pull this crap.”

Would you consider the experience of FlyerTalk member OnTheSlopes rude or justified — or perhaps a bit of both? “Had a good one myself the other day in ATL as well – very crowded and went from D to B. When I got off my plane we have 12 minutes until boarding, so I could make it, but had no time to waste. This guy stands in front of the door and stares at me as I shove past several people – doesn’t move. His bag was in my way and got kicked into the hallway with him saying something like ‘excuse you!’. I responded with a ‘don’t block the door! Some us have flights to catch’. The ladies behind me (they followed my path) said ‘thank you’ as we hit the escalators. No consideration at all. I don’t feel bad to run those people over.”

Blocking the doors is especially thoughtless when the middle of the train car is empty and can accommodate passengers waiting on the platform who initially believe that the train car is too full for them to fit inside. This blatant lack of consideration potentially causes a domino effect of sorts for subsequent trains if left unchecked. The same can be said for those people who have a penchant for standing near the front of the bus when there is plenty of room to step to the back to allow other people to board.

Summary

As a person who has traveled on the subway system in New York for approximately nine consecutive years and has been on other conveyances of public transportation throughout the world, I have been in countless situations where the train was so crowded that I had no choice but to stand in one of the doorways of the car — and what I do is that at each stop, I will step outside of the train and stand off to the side out of courtesy for fellow passengers in order to allow traffic to enter and exit the car of the train before returning to my position in the doorway inside of the car…

…which leads me to state that if a person must for whatever reason stand in the doorway of the car, either at least step outside of the car or off to the side inside of the car — both to clear the doorway for others to pass through before stepping back and returning to the spot. Blocking an exit for no reason is inconsiderate at best and a potential safety hazard at worst — especially when luggage and other belongings are in the way.

Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

  1. like literally every entry you complain about something and it annoyingly shows up on boarding area. Usually its something petty and dumb.

  2. This article isn’t a whine or complaint; it’s a reasoned Public Service Announcement to request that fellow humans stop being morons, start engaging their brains and consider others.

    Sadly, common sense isn’t common!

  3. I have a pet peeve that’s somewhat related – people who stop moving as soon they reach the end of the moving walkway or escalator – often trying to figure out where to go next or grabbing something out of their bag, or whatever, but always clueless that there might be other people right behind them who now have to scramble to avoid colliding into these idiots!

  4. I agree with the comments about people walking in front of seats behind the bulkhead.

    Last year, I flew Qantas from Australia to DFW. I paid a premium for a particular seat because it had a lot of leg room, but before the flight, I noticed in the reviews at seatguru.com that a number of people had commented that it was not a great seat because of people using it to walkthrough, so I was proactive about it (or passive aggressive, you decide). Once the flight had reach cruising altitude, I moved my bag from under the seat in front of me to the legroom in front of me, allowing me to use it both as a footrest, and to prevent people from walking through.

    As it was a nighttime flight, people couldn’t see the bag on the floor, so bonus points for tripping people up. 🙂

  5. I have come to the realization that the world is full of inconsiderate, oblivious, morons. This is another prime example of the kind of behavior people with those attributes take part in. I like your examples, have no issue giving a body check to get where I am going. Maybe it’s the fact we know NYC and how boarding a subway car works. Many people sadly do not. Keep up the good fight Brian, we can’t let them get us down.

  6. I’m surprised not more people are talking about this. I can’t stand it. I hate it when people walk slowly in groups and take the entire sidewalk, preventing people to briskly pass them. I hate it when people don’t move to areas of trains and buses with less traffic, so people can exit or board. I’m standing on a train right now, and the area by the doors is packed, while the central area where I made my way has a lot of spare room. I hate it also when people block stairs or really anywhere where we’re supposed to be circulating. I don’t understand how there can be such a high number of morons who don’t seem to realize or care that they’re making transit a pain in the ass for everyone else.

    1. Oh, and I forgot about those who keep their backpacks on their back in crowded trains. I can’t bear those guys either, and often end up having to push them back as they push their back into me. If you have a backpack, keep it at your feet. Everyone should know better.

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