Ottawa isn’t a big city compared with many other capitals around the world. Hence, one might think that less traffic and fewer people would mean that its residents are less stressed and more attentive to each other.
Yet, as far as the transit etiquette is concerned, there is certainly a lot of room for improvement.
Let’s put it bluntly – leaving your home has never been a less pleasant experience. People are rude to each other and strangers are getting increasingly aggressive.
Here are some real-life examples.
On a weekday, an elderly man with a handicap walker slowly climbed a bus. He stumbled to the front seats, occupied by three other elderly people and a 20-something woman. The elderly passengers got up, with clear physical difficulty, and moved to the back of the bus, giving the man some room to sit. The young woman, on the other hand, looked around and continued listening to her MP3 player. She did not even move a finger.
On a different and very stormy day, people were running for cover at the Mackenzie King Bridge. Two women, who didn’t have an umbrella, sprinted from a bus to the Rideau Centre. Soaked and miserable, they approached the doorway, where another businesswoman blocked it. She pointed to the umbrella in her hand that she was trying to open and hysterically shouted, “I’m not done yet!” She repeated it to each woman, as they unsuccessfully tried to sneak in.
Other situations, which are even more worrisome, include drivers in Centretown who consistently scare pedestrians by pretending to try and run them over. What would a man in a car have against an innocent teenager, who is crossing the street on a green light?
As if running someone over isn’t bad enough, drivers have also started to curse at the pedestrians, after they try to hit them with their vehicle.
Sounds absurd, but these incidents are very common.
Certainly, there could be many explanations for such behaviour: having a bad day at work, not paying enough attention, or getting into an argument with a significant other five minutes before driving. But these are ridiculous explanations for behaviour that is so extreme it can cause physical discomfort to others or literally kill someone.
The solution to this transit madness is all about courtesy – if the bus driver asks everyone to move to the back, so that more people could board the bus, then it should be done. Blocking an empty seat on the O-Train with a Prada bag is not quite appropriate either when a pregnant woman is forced to stand, as a result.
Anger is growing exponentially in this city and the only way it could end is through collective effort.
The key is to stop creating chaos. Yes, we are all strangers, but we live in a civilized society.
It all goes back to what our grandmas used to say – be nice to others and they will be nice to you. Gestures of politeness and respect should become a regular activity in every Ottawa resident’s life.