

Things my new commute has taught me #1: not all seats are equal - chrislo
http://meish.org/2007/05/22/things-my-new-commute-has-taught-me-1/

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bumbledraven
In the article, the image is cropped so you can't see "Position 1". Here's the
full image: [http://meish.org/wp-
content/uploads/2007/08/tubecarriage4.pn...](http://meish.org/wp-
content/uploads/2007/08/tubecarriage4.png)

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chancho
I thought I was going insane reading the comments. "What are these people
talking about? THERE IS NO 5!"

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gaoshan
This made me laugh. It is also true on public transport in China. The older
people have really figured out this hierarchy and it is funny to watch them
eyeing improved seating positions as a stop approaches. Then, the doors open,
seats vacate and there is a rush of senior citizens trying to improve their
position however marginally. Quite funny to watch once you realize what is
going on (also a good way for the inexperienced to quickly find out which
seats are best).

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mhb
Brings to mind the airline version: <http://www.seatguru.com/>

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mokchuk
I used to this same commute myself for 2 years, fortunately London Transport
are upgrading to open plan carriages and fewer seats, see the video at the
bottom of the page:
[http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/10127.asp...](http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/10127.aspx)

Maybe the writer should start planning for the new layouts?

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matthewcford
The best bit is that people tend to also optimize for maximum distance apart
as well as a good position

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mkelly
I commuted on the subway in NYC for a few months last summer, but I never
noticed a hierarchy beyond "sitting > standing" -- probably just because I
wasn't paying enough attention and wasn't there long enough. I'm going to
watch for this when I go back.

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yan
I definitely felt a hierarchy. The R68-type[1] trains always had some seats
fill faster than others.

For instance, the three seats lining the wall (see diagram), with the two
seats perpendicular to the direction of travel always had the seat 3 fill
faster than others (It's next to a window, has guaranteed leg space and you
can put your feet on the radiator; it's pretty awesome). Seat 4 gets filled
later since you have more leg space and can avoid person in seat 3 more
effectively if you don't know them. Seats 0-2 have the potential to be
squeezed awfully close to a stranger. Even closer if the train is operating is
moving unpredictably.

    
    
      [0][1][2]..[3].
      ...........[4].
    

The pairs of seats on the edges of the train are nice if you have a bike or
with 1 or 3 friends since you can take up that section of the train, be
separated from everyone else, or lean on the wall to nap or rest.

Also, the side of the train that was closer to the side with majority of
stations tended to be more popular.

And this post just went into _way_ more detail than it had to.

[1]
[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/R68_Interior.j...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/R68_Interior.jpeg)

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jedc
Having ridden the Tube for years, this article is _spot on_. This is exactly
the way that I think when trying to grab a seat.

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adammarkey
An application of this we can all relate to:

"Not all stalls (bathroom) are created equal"

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phil_collins
This guy is autistic.

