Helping Humanity on Metro Madrid
Recently, I was on a metro train (where I spend a large part of each waking day) and when the train arrived at the station, this woman next to me was waiting to exit, but she didn't know that one needs to lift the lever on the door for it to open. She waited, and then saw the people exiting the other door, and suddenly she panicked and started pounding on the door and throwing herself into it, trying to escape. Finally, I leaned over and pulled the lever just in time to open the door before the train took off. She bolted, frustrated, and no doubt feeling a little silly. It felt so good to finally be the person SHOWING someone else how things worked instead of the one frantically throwing myself at things (figuratively, at least).
They Found the Handle!
It reminded me of my public transit experiences in San Francisco. There was a period, a few years back, when the buses there began to use this strange new mechanism for the back door. You had to step down the stairs toward the door, and then the door opened automatically. The previous doors either opened automatically when the bus stopped, or if you were on one of the lines with the gargantuan accordion buses (the 38 Geary for example), you had to grab the handle and the doors would open. I know, I know, there should be some sort of committee creating a universal standard for these things, but apparently there isn't. Well, there's a little sign above the back door on the new buses that says PLEASE STEP DOWN or something like that, but if you're not looking at it or for it, you're probably not going to see it. Add to this the fact that many of the riders of MUNI in SF aren't native English speakers, and well, it can be a problem, and I empathize. (Although, I think I'd now actually understand that statement if it were in Spanish, yay!!!)
Many times on my way to work in the morning, some newbie would show up on the 21 Hayes bus and not know to step down to open the door. Usually, this resulted in the person pushing, pulling, then hitting the door, then frantically screaming "back door" or "STOP" or "HELP!!!" The latter was my favorite, I love the urgency :) To which the entire bus would respond in unison, in a somewhat bored and perfunctory fashion, "STEP DOWN!!!" This usually fixed the problem and the person walked. But, on the occasion that someone didn't speak English very well or were particularly dense, it sometimes required someone else intervening and stepping down for them, and on a rare and tragic occasion, the person actually MISSED their stop!!! I know, sounds unbelievable, but I have witnessed it with mine own eyes.
Anyway, the woman in Madrid got off, thanks to me, and it felt good... hmmm, what was I talking about? Hehe.
Recently, I was on a metro train (where I spend a large part of each waking day) and when the train arrived at the station, this woman next to me was waiting to exit, but she didn't know that one needs to lift the lever on the door for it to open. She waited, and then saw the people exiting the other door, and suddenly she panicked and started pounding on the door and throwing herself into it, trying to escape. Finally, I leaned over and pulled the lever just in time to open the door before the train took off. She bolted, frustrated, and no doubt feeling a little silly. It felt so good to finally be the person SHOWING someone else how things worked instead of the one frantically throwing myself at things (figuratively, at least).
It reminded me of my public transit experiences in San Francisco. There was a period, a few years back, when the buses there began to use this strange new mechanism for the back door. You had to step down the stairs toward the door, and then the door opened automatically. The previous doors either opened automatically when the bus stopped, or if you were on one of the lines with the gargantuan accordion buses (the 38 Geary for example), you had to grab the handle and the doors would open. I know, I know, there should be some sort of committee creating a universal standard for these things, but apparently there isn't. Well, there's a little sign above the back door on the new buses that says PLEASE STEP DOWN or something like that, but if you're not looking at it or for it, you're probably not going to see it. Add to this the fact that many of the riders of MUNI in SF aren't native English speakers, and well, it can be a problem, and I empathize. (Although, I think I'd now actually understand that statement if it were in Spanish, yay!!!)
Many times on my way to work in the morning, some newbie would show up on the 21 Hayes bus and not know to step down to open the door. Usually, this resulted in the person pushing, pulling, then hitting the door, then frantically screaming "back door" or "STOP" or "HELP!!!" The latter was my favorite, I love the urgency :) To which the entire bus would respond in unison, in a somewhat bored and perfunctory fashion, "STEP DOWN!!!" This usually fixed the problem and the person walked. But, on the occasion that someone didn't speak English very well or were particularly dense, it sometimes required someone else intervening and stepping down for them, and on a rare and tragic occasion, the person actually MISSED their stop!!! I know, sounds unbelievable, but I have witnessed it with mine own eyes.
Anyway, the woman in Madrid got off, thanks to me, and it felt good... hmmm, what was I talking about? Hehe.
posted by Chromest*r at 4:33 PM
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