When Bags Attack: Seating Strategies on Metro
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Where's the best place to sit in a Metrorail car? I say it's the first set of seats past the end doors, where a rider can get up without having to ask a seatmate to move. Second-best: the bench seats by the center doors. They're only second-best because the seated passenger's face and knees are positioned for a collision with bags carried by other passengers as they swing around the pole in the middle of the aisle.
Michael Jacobs, a Metro rider from Alexandria, launched a discussion of passenger space on trains when he wrote to critique passengers bearing backpacks [Dr. Gridlock, April 12] and other space invasions, such as walking on the backs of people's heels.
One reader relayed what a flight attendant had told her about bag handling: Keep a rolling bag in front of you to control it better and to make sure it's going where you are going. A pull-along is a trip hazard for those behind it and a potentially wrenching experience for those pulling it, she said.
This writer raised other issues.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Although I agree somewhat with Michael Jacobs, I also have to disagree. One, on a crowded train, backpacks taken off are walked on by people who suddenly remember it's their stop and knock you over to get out.
Two, wearing the backpack helps to dissuade people from rummaging. I had a young man try to go through mine. His excuse: "Oh, I thought it was mine." Unless he's borrowing his niece's "Hello Kitty" backpack (as I was), I do believe he thought he'd find something.
My question: What about the men and women who bring umpteen bags on board? This is a commute, not a vacation. Those are much more annoying than backpacks.
And a simple answer to the shoes: Don't walk up the escalators. I can't even tell you the number of times I've been hit by the bag of someone who is running up or down the escalator. I've seen quite a few folks lose their footing and fall a few steps in their hurry to get ahead. Unless it's closing time, there will be another train or bus.
Belle Cody
