Bordeaux bus queues
Brilliant!
I wanted to take a picture of the queue this evening, but I'd have had to take it from above to show what was happening..
Basically it is a bit like the electron-shell model of atomic structure. The post with the bus stop number on it is the nucleus, and the people arrange themselves randomly at some considerable distance from the pole. One guy put his shopping bags by the pole then wandered off to about 10 metres away where the mobile phone signal was better. A family with two sons in their late teens bickered happily, the lads chucking stones at each other, then dancing on the pavement to their walkmen. (The shopping guy and I caught each others' eye at this point and started laughing..) A lady stood at quite a distance. One chap stood so far away that when a different bus arrived at a different stop he got on it - like a chemical reaction, I suppose.
Then when the bus comes you all surge forward and get on in any old order, but without scrambling. We know everyone will get on so there's no need to line up or to push and shove.
Oh, and say "Bonjour" to the bus driver. We are increasingly urged to get on the bus at the front door, following a study where they discovered that getting on at the front improved courtesy on the buses because everyone says "Bonjour" to the driver. It also cuts down the number of people who don't use a ticket or a bus pass!
Once inside, Bordeaux buses are designed for sociability. They have some seats arranged in groups of four, like on trains, so you can chat, argue, eat a kebab with friends, play your radio or sing along to your mobile phone like a group of girls did the other day. It's party time.
Some seats have priority for the elderly or the pregnant, but it seems that you don't need to worry about that. If an elderly or pregnant person (or both!) wants that seat they'll ask for it and turf you out of it. I have seen this happen a few times.
It's all so very different!
I wanted to take a picture of the queue this evening, but I'd have had to take it from above to show what was happening..
Basically it is a bit like the electron-shell model of atomic structure. The post with the bus stop number on it is the nucleus, and the people arrange themselves randomly at some considerable distance from the pole. One guy put his shopping bags by the pole then wandered off to about 10 metres away where the mobile phone signal was better. A family with two sons in their late teens bickered happily, the lads chucking stones at each other, then dancing on the pavement to their walkmen. (The shopping guy and I caught each others' eye at this point and started laughing..) A lady stood at quite a distance. One chap stood so far away that when a different bus arrived at a different stop he got on it - like a chemical reaction, I suppose.
Then when the bus comes you all surge forward and get on in any old order, but without scrambling. We know everyone will get on so there's no need to line up or to push and shove.
Oh, and say "Bonjour" to the bus driver. We are increasingly urged to get on the bus at the front door, following a study where they discovered that getting on at the front improved courtesy on the buses because everyone says "Bonjour" to the driver. It also cuts down the number of people who don't use a ticket or a bus pass!
Once inside, Bordeaux buses are designed for sociability. They have some seats arranged in groups of four, like on trains, so you can chat, argue, eat a kebab with friends, play your radio or sing along to your mobile phone like a group of girls did the other day. It's party time.
Some seats have priority for the elderly or the pregnant, but it seems that you don't need to worry about that. If an elderly or pregnant person (or both!) wants that seat they'll ask for it and turf you out of it. I have seen this happen a few times.
It's all so very different!
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