Ah, commuting. Depending on your experience, the pain or joy of it all plays a large role in the average working day. No matter how you commute, you are bound to encounter some interesting characters, both good and bad, on your travels every day.
The makeup artist
It is 7.30am on a rush hour bus journey and the mood in the upper deck is not the most pleasant. People grumble and bustle around, searching for earphones to block out the deafening silence of the morning commute. You sit down and manage to get comfortable, when the person next to you produces their makeup bag and performs a whole Get Ready With Me routine beside you. You fight the urge to scream. You didn’t ask to get ready with them, you didn’t want powder puffed onto your face as well as theirs, and you certainly didn’t want it for the entire duration of the commute. Still, you sit by them because you are too awkward to switch seats or, in rush hour, you have no other option. You and the makeup artist probably aren’t friends. However, there is the odd chance that their application of products and choice of brands influences you the next time you put on your face.
The DJ
At the end of a long day, most of us want to travel in silence or listen to our choice of music or podcast. There are some passengers, however, who decide that the luas or bus doesn’t actually have the atmosphere they want – so they play their own music at an unmissable volume. We are not talking about the people who have their earphones in but play music at a volume just a little too loud. We are talking about those who openly play their setlist, and sometimes even use a speaker. It is the sort of commuter companion behavior that makes you shudder. A free DJ set is not an advantage to commuting on public transport unless they are playing some genuine bops, which very rarely happens.
The callers
Okay, we all find ourselves in this category once in a while. Ringing home for a quick chat is never too disruptive, but a loud phone conversation about personal circumstances for the entire duration of the commute is too much to bear. Sometimes things overheard on commuter calls can sound juicy, and you find yourself totally immersed in the stranger’s life – what DID happen last night in O’Reilly’s? It is hard not to listen if you are earphone-free or not immersed in technology or literature, but if the conversation is just a bad bitching session, the negative vibes are not what you want to hear on a journey after work or college.
The readers
Those who read on public transport are an impressive kind of person. Many commuters may feel travel sick reading on a bus or luas, but others read on every mode of public transport, and we love to see it. Looking around at what people are reading can be a great opportunity to source new reading material, and it also gives a further insight into your commuter companions. If you love to people watch, have a look at what books people are reading. As an added fun bonus, keep tabs on regular commuter companions who move to different books at a fast pace.
The school kids
You feel dread creeping up on you as you approach the stop on your route where the school kids get on. When they embark, things are infinitely louder and you don’t understand half of what the kids are talking about. Tiktok videos play loudly, and as you fight through the mob to make your way to the door a Jansport school bag is shoved in your face. The kids coming from sport trail mud around the place and open numerous bags of Munchies. These companions are often some of the very worst. When they leave and you are lucky enough to go on with your commute, rather than follow them and walk home their way, the relief among fellow passengers is palpable.
The chatters
Those who chat with you can be a welcome distraction or the worst kind of interruption. While this is far more of an occurrence on buses than on other forms of public transport, it is usually a good way to find out local gossip or even to brighten someone’s day by simply talking to them. An estimated 400,000 people in Ireland are suffering from loneliness. The next time you travel, it might be worth taking out the earphones when someone sits beside you.
