Manspreaders, seat-hoggers and smelly food among commuters’ biggest bugbears
Let’s face it, nothing can make the start of the week worse than an irritating trip to work.
We all know too well the crowded journey next to a manspreader, sitting next to someone loudly chewing on a McDonald’s breakfast roll or waiting for a delayed train.
As mayor of London Sadiq Khan today announced the biggest rise in Tube and bus fares in a decade, the commute is set to get from bad to worse for many, with cost of trips going up by 5%.
Surprisingly, however, the high cost of travel is not the biggest bugbearer for Brits.
Instead, a poll of 2,000 adults found it was all trumped by something even worse – something reserved for those who don’t have to get public transport: de-icing the car in the morning.
Traffic lights which keep changing to red as you approach, tailgaters, and people who undertake on the motorway also frustrate many of those polled.
Hefty train and bus fares are right up there too, with one in six citing them as one of their biggest irks.
The research was commissioned by Virgin Red after it was revealed that train tickets are set to increase by 3.8% in March – a rise which 85% of rail users describe as ‘out of hand’.
Andrea Burchett, spokesperson for the rewards club, said: No one likes to begin or end their working day with an onslaught of obstacles.
‘Many commuters will feel the instant impact of train ticket price hikes in March.’
Other annoyances include feet on the seats, abandoned rubbish, loud music, lack of air conditioning or ventilation, people who eat smelly foods, having to stand under someone’s armpit and manspreaders.
Despite such irritants, many people missed their commute to work during the pandemic and are now relieved to be back in the office.
Some of the best things about commuting, according to the study, are listening to music, people watching, and being able to switch off between work and home life.
Top 40 commuting bugbears
1. De-icing the car
2. Being stuck in traffic for hours
3. Tailgating
4. People who change lane last minute and nearly cause an accident
5. Delayed trains, buses or tubes
6. Getting in the car and having to wait for the condensation to clear
7. When the ‘traffic light god’ isn’t on your side
8. Traffic lights which seem to serve no purpose
9. People talking loudly on the phone on public transport
10. Cyclists running red lights
11. Middle lane drivers
12. Dawdlers
13. When buses or trains simply don’t turn up
14. Needing the toilet when stuck in traffic
15. Feet on the seats
16. When there’s a cycle lane immediately to their left and cyclists use the main road instead
17. People who sit next to you despite there being lots of empty seats elsewhere
18. Expensive train ticket prices
19. Rubbish on the train tables / bus floors
20. People refusing to give up their seat for others more needy (e.g. older passengers, pregnant women, people with disabilities or those with young children)
21. People who drive at 50mph on the motorway
22. People who don’t wait for you to get off the tube, train or bus first before barging on
23. People who listen to terrible music (loudly)
24. No air conditioning or ventilation on public transport during the summer
25. Realising you should have got petrol the day before and now you don’t have enough time
26. Trying to find a parking space at work
27. People who hog an extra seat with their bags
28. When the bin collectors block the road
29. People under-taking on the motorway
30. People who sniff or snort loudly on public transport
31. When you let someone in and they get through the traffic lights and you don’t
32. People who eat smelly food next to you
33. People eating loudly on public transport
34. Having to cart heavy bags to and from work
35. People who don’t let you on when you’re trying to get on a busy bus, train, or tube
36. Waiting ages and then two buses arrive at once
37. Having to stand under someone’s armpit
38. People who stand in train doorways rather than moving down the carriage
39. Manspreaders – men take up too much room by spreading their legs on public transport
40. People asking you to ‘move down’ the carriage when there’s clearly no more space available
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