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>> An excellent way to ensure passenger safety is not to share an enclosed space with someone dangerous. US citizen? Can I ask, why is it that US citizens are

>> An excellent way to ensure passenger safety is not to share an enclosed space with someone dangerous. US citizen? Can I ask, why is it that US citizens are so worried about dangerous people in public transport? Is it a rational concern or is it more of a -no offecne meant- preconceived idea? Is it something that's evenly geographically distributed or something you find more in certain places than others? I'm asking honestly and curiously and hoping more to clear up my own preconceptions than to enforce them. I do find it strange; because I use public transport basically all the time (I don't own a car). I live in the UK and some years I commuted daily by train to work and back. Otherwise I take the bus when I have far to go. I have consistently traveled between the UK and Greece by train and ferry boat for some 15 years now. I've never felt that I was in any kind of danger, although to be fair some times the London trains can be a bit of a pain in the ass on a Saturday night (too many drunken brits, but they're mostly harmless, and really just rowdy). I've been on some pretty wild lines too. For a few years me and a friend would take the night train from Paris to Venice, and back on the return. That's a sleeper train with six-person cabins. We rode it on through the years of increasing immigration waves from Africa through Italy to the North of Europe, so I've traveled with people with ... varied life histories for sure. Still, all this time, me and my friend's most memorable experience remains the time a Chinese gentleman was asked to open his luggage by border guards in Switzerland, at which point everyone in the compartment (and possibly the ones next door) was very clearly able to smell the large fresh fish he was carrying in his bag. They took him off the train because he didn't have papers. For himself, not the fish. I hope he reached his destination. I bet everyone would have been eager to fast-track him along. I mean, it's not the boring safety of sitting in your car but it's not dangerous. Only interesting. And the night train, when it careens through the Alps you're like a baby in the cradle, swaying gently and lulled by the sound of the rails. I miss that train. I think the company went bankrupt during the pandemic and they don't run anymore. That has complicated me and my friend's travel quite a bit in the last few years. So I have good experiences of public transit. What's the problem with US public transport? Why are people so worried about it?

xnx 2y ago
> US citizen? Yes. I understand that there is some enforcement on trains in Europe that you be a paying passenger. In metro trains in the US this is less common or non-existent. Because of the US inability to deal with drug, mental-health, and homelessness issues, public transit often ends up being shelter for a lot of people who have nothing to lose. The risk of being murdered is low, but the risk of an unnecessarily unpleasant experience is high: begging, harassment, groping, smoke-filled train cars, food scraps, having someone spit in your face, urine, vomit, and feces are stories every commuter has. Inter-city trains are generally fine.
- YeGoblynQueenne 2y ago
  Thanks for answering! There is enforcement in Europe, more or less depending on where you are. In the UK it's not unknown or even not uncommon for homeless folks to board busses or trains and maybe taking a nap (or a good night's sleep) instead of sitting outside and freezing. In the UK and in Greece beggars are also a common occurrence. >> The risk of being murdered is low, but the risk of an unnecessarily unpleasant experience is high: begging, harassment, groping, smoke-filled train cars, food scraps, having someone spit in your face, urine, vomit, and feces are stories every commuter has. Inter-city trains are generally fine. That certainly sounds extremely unpleasant. What I'm trying to understand is how high is the risk, really, and whether it is higher in some cities than others. I mean because I still can't imagine public transport where people will spit in your face in the bus or in the train. Although I've seen people getting sick (and then jumping off at the next stop, bastards) on London busses. In London, being puked on of a night out is a real risk but then it's nothing to do with public transport. Anyway, how high is the risk of such unpleasant experiences in the U? Why is it that way?

xnx 2y ago

> US citizen? Yes. I understand that there is some enforcement on trains in Europe that you be a paying passenger. In metro trains in the US this is less common or non-existent. Because of the US inability to deal with drug, mental-health, and homelessness issues, public transit often ends up being shelter for a lot of people who have nothing to lose. The risk of being murdered is low, but the risk of an unnecessarily unpleasant experience is high: begging, harassment, groping, smoke-filled train cars, food scraps, having someone spit in your face, urine, vomit, and feces are stories every commuter has. Inter-city trains are generally fine.

YeGoblynQueenne 2y ago
Thanks for answering! There is enforcement in Europe, more or less depending on where you are. In the UK it's not unknown or even not uncommon for homeless folks to board busses or trains and maybe taking a nap (or a good night's sleep) instead of sitting outside and freezing. In the UK and in Greece beggars are also a common occurrence. >> The risk of being murdered is low, but the risk of an unnecessarily unpleasant experience is high: begging, harassment, groping, smoke-filled train cars, food scraps, having someone spit in your face, urine, vomit, and feces are stories every commuter has. Inter-city trains are generally fine. That certainly sounds extremely unpleasant. What I'm trying to understand is how high is the risk, really, and whether it is higher in some cities than others. I mean because I still can't imagine public transport where people will spit in your face in the bus or in the train. Although I've seen people getting sick (and then jumping off at the next stop, bastards) on London busses. In London, being puked on of a night out is a real risk but then it's nothing to do with public transport. Anyway, how high is the risk of such unpleasant experiences in the U? Why is it that way?