For whom the bus rolls: UBC professor looks at bus etiquette
Credit to Author: Denise Ryan| Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2019 02:08:16 +0000
Taking the bus is a great equalizer, the place where manspreaders bump up against loud talkers, where binners ride alongside babes in strollers, where someone’s day could be changed with the offer of a seat when one is needed.
Since announcing a new study exploring for whom the bus rolls, a UBC professor’s email inbox has become a confessional for people who want to tell all about their daily commutes.
“Buses are a public place where we are in close proximity, visible to others and stuck with each other for a while, a place where we can be together without having to be alike,” said Amy Hanser, an associate professor of sociology at the University of B.C.
Hanser, who will be riding Vancouver buses and talking to other riders as part of a research project, said she wants to investigate more than just etiquette, and really look at whether buses are a place of mixing and of tolerance.
“In some cities, buses are marked by economic marginality. But in Vancouver, a pretty wide swath of people do use the bus,” said Hanser.
Vancouver riders also tend to be “exceptionally courteous,” and Hanser credits the cleanliness of the buses and their courteous drivers for encouraging the good vibes.
Many of the buses that traverse Vancouver from the West Side through downtown and into East Vancouver show our civic segregation.
“If I get on the bus from UBC and to the east side, often I am the only person who gets all the way downtown. Buses can connect parts of the city, but that doesn’t mean those people from different parts of the city are seeing each other’s neighbourhoods or how others live.”
And yet, regular commuters have their “bus family,” the people they ride with every day.
“You might not want to talk to them. It’s not a friend, it’s not an acquaintance — we don’t even have a word for that person,” said Hanser.
The particular bus family you meet will be shaped by the time you travel, said Hanser. “There is a real absence of middle-aged men on buses in the afternoon. Binners would be on the bus at certain times of day.”
Most people prefer not to formalize relationships we make on the bus, if only to save ourselves from having a correlated obligation, like small talk, said Hanser.
The pilot project will allow her to formalize an inquiry into a personal fascination Hanser has had as a 20-year bus commuter. The higher purpose of the study is to look at what causes conflict in shared spaces, and perhaps to add to the policy conversation.
Where you sit is a deeply personal choice. (Hanser sits in the middle.)
“If you sit in the front, you have a greater expectation of interaction,” said Hanser. “People in the back tend to be quieter and talk less.”
Hanser won’t reveal which routes she will be studying, but if you don’t want to talk to her, move to the back of the bus.