Bus Passenger Demands Woman Move Her Bag From Seat So She Can Sit Next To Her — Despite Plenty Of Empty Seats Around Her
Most people agreed that she went against bus etiquette 101.
BearFotos / Shutterstock After a long shift, a woman was hoping for a peaceful bus ride home. Unfortunately, she was unable to have one due to another passenger demanding to sit next to her despite several empty seats around her.
Now, the woman is asking if she was wrong for making a fuss about the passenger insisting that she sit right next to her when there were several seating options available that would have granted both of them their personal space.
The bus passenger insisted that the woman move her bag that was placed on the seat next to her so that she could sit there.
Sharing her story to Reddit, the woman revealed that she often takes the bus from work to her college campus. She described the bus as “sparse.”
“When I say sparse, I mean it’s never even close to half full. There are always rows of empty seats at the time that I ride it in the afternoon,” the woman clarified.
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The woman always brings a light linen bag to work with her, and on the bus ride home, she places it on the seat next to her since the bus is often empty.
“I don’t mind anyone sitting next to me, but the bus is never close to full, so I use the space for my bag,” she added.
One evening, while she was riding the bus after work, a passenger boarded and “grimaced” at her when she saw the woman’s bag in the seat next to her.
“She gestured for me to remove my bag so she could sit next to me,” the woman wrote. “As usual, there were so many empty seats.”
The woman noted that she was not sitting in a reserved seat section for disabled or elderly individuals, and while she believed that the passenger should have opted to sit elsewhere, she moved her bag so that she could sit next to her.
Even though she was not happy about it, the woman moved her bag despite all of the empty seats the passenger could have chosen.
However, the passenger was not pleased with the woman’s reaction.
“I sort of rolled my eyes when she sat down next to me and sighed, not to be obvious, but just because I got off an 8-hour shift, I was tired and wanted my own space, and SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO SIT NEXT TO ME,” the woman wrote.
“She clearly noticed and then said, ‘You need to learn some manners.’”
Now, the woman is asking others how they would have reacted in her situation.
Many people sided with the woman, agreeing that her response was appropriate given the available empty seats.
“It was very inconsiderate for that lady to intentionally invade your personal space and demand she sit next to you. The only one lacking manners and common courtesy was her and not you,” one Redditor commented.
“If most or all of the pairs of seats have someone sitting in them I'll move my bag, but if there's plenty of empty seats then Nah, I'm taking up some space,” another user shared.
“This person needs to learn some manners first. The entitlement to force someone to move their bag on a city bus with plenty of room is just bonkers,” another user noted.
Zamrznuti tonovi / Shutterstock
Most people would argue that it goes against public transport etiquette to sit next to another passenger when there are plenty of open seats.
Bus etiquette demonstrates respect for another individual's personal space, and wouldn’t you also want your own space to move a little more freely on an already cramped bus?
There is really no need to be breathing down someone’s neck when there is plenty of room elsewhere on public transport.
If anything, the passenger who told the woman that she needed to learn some manners needs to learn some herself and educate herself on social awareness.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.