Look closely at the picture above, I know it's dark but do you see the people? Can you tell what they are doing? They are LINED up. Apparently the people who take the Stouffville Corridor line up on the platform to board the train. I never noticed before until a person waiting with me on Platform 12 for the 5:20 pointed it out. This is apparently a long-standing tradition. It's amazing to me that this actually happens.Who started this? Who enforces it? Why can't the Oshawa Corridor work this way, instead of this hot mess:
The demographic of the Stouffville corridor is predominantly Asian. With that, and I'm Asian (born in Hong Kong) comes discipline and where rules aren't an issue. I have been reading for some time and it appears to be that the more white-bread Canadian the people on the train are, the more bad behaviour. Maybe I'm wrong but this is an opinion based on what I've taken in from this site. Very rare do the stories involve the Stouffville line.
ReplyDeleteBag riding and foot riding doesn't happen on my train and people are overall polite. Unfortunately, cellphone use is an issue and there's nothing like listening to a conversation in Chinese at ear-splitting volume.
I'm not sure how to respond because I don't want to turn this into a debate about culture but I am sure there is merit in your opinion.
ReplyDeleteQuestion is, how does this become the norm for all the lines?
I also take Stouffville, but in the past have taken both Richmond Hill and Barrie. Every single one of those trains have had courtesy line-ups enforced by passengers.
ReplyDeleteBut, you know, I actually found Richmond Hill to be the most courteous. Stouffville has those odd few who ignore the line, stand off to the side, then rush to the doors once they open.
I couldn't have it any other way!
Hmmm... coincidentally, there are a lot of Asians in RH. I don't think that's what makes it so organized, though.
Could the lack of a line on the Lakeshore East line be merely a result of the large amount of people taking those trains. If there were such lines they would extend down the stairwells. I have seen signs telling us not to stand in the stairwells.
ReplyDeleteI have seen courteous and bad behavior from people of all racial and cultures on the transit. The Picture I took of a young lady with her boots on a plush GO seat was Asian in appearance. I did not draw any conclusions or attribute her behavior to her racial appearance (I would have no idea what culture she may be from)
The lining up at Go Trains would make a great Social study for some eager student.
Nightnurse, according to http://www.gotransit.com/passengercharter/en/comfort/seatcapacityrail.aspx ,
ReplyDeleteStouffville and Barrie seem to have more packed trains at the moment than Lakeshore East does
Huh.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Union Station, complete with the roof.
Why are there so many tracks in Stouffville?
Anthony, I recently returned from Hong Kong and I can assure you there were no line ups for the subways or the train from the airport. I don't think ethnicity has anything to do with it.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar experience taking the Georgetown line. The GT folks crowd around the anticipated door locations like pigs to the trough, and as we’re leaving Union you can see the Richmond Hill folks politely lining up (sometimes single-file, sometimes 2x2) for their train to arrive.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure why some lines have this figured out. Perhaps it’s just a case of LSE and GT folks all collectively feel they are more important than the hundreds of other passengers who are also waiting to go home, and thus shouldn’t have to wait?
I have always referred to these line-ups as the "Stepford People"...
ReplyDelete@Anthony C
ReplyDeleteBeing of HK descent as well, I have to disagree. In Hong Kong, Line ups are pretty much non-existent and pushing your way to the front is the norm. I would assume any Canadian traveler who isn't accustomed to this would be surprised as to how "line ups" are handled there.
While ridership manners could be improved on the GO, I'd rather put up with what we have then deal with the public transit in experience in HK.
If I'm at an area where I know the doors will open, I will stand there. Sometimes I'm "first in line" other times, I will line up behind the folks already standing there. It's amazing how when others show up, they mushroom out wide, rather than line up behind the people already there. I'm on LSE so yeah, I'm well aware of the reputation we have going. lol
ReplyDeleteI think a whole post needs to be devoted to this.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't like is that I'm first on the platform. I'm first right behind the yellow line. The train pulls in and people begin to crowd around the doors and next thing I know, people who showed up well after me are now getting on the train before me.
I'm with Cindy, who started the RH and SF lines and how does it get enforced and why doesn't anyone on the LSE, LSW and GT lines start demanding this?
I agree partly with Anthony C: most Stouffville train passengers are Chinese (from Hong Kong), and most of them do have queuing up ingrained in their brains. That combined with everyone else who has grown up here, who have been told to line up since childhood, it just kinda makes sense.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's not just at Union that we line-up either. Each of our platforms stops going towards Union have their own lines too.
As for starting line-ups on the LS lines, try just standing directly behind somebody else the next time you're waiting for a train, and maybe they'll just naturally form a line behind you?
I ride the RH line twice daily, and have done so for several years now. I never took the GO until I moved up there, and to be honest until reading these comments thought that civilized lineups were the norm across the system (I'm not kidding). Everyone ALWAYS queues both uptown and downtown. And while it's not devoid of jerks who park badly, people who talk loudly or folks who try to hog seats, I do find instances in each case to be few and far between. As someone that spent years taking the subway from Finch, I absolutely love the civility of the RH line.
ReplyDeleteAdam
So I don't quite get it. Do they stand near where they think the doors will open and form lines at each door? The train often does not stop where you think it will.
ReplyDeleteDonna - yes, everyone lines up where they anticipate the doors will end up, and they are remarkably close each time. Always within 10 feet.
ReplyDeleteAdam
They do that at Bramalea as well, but it usually turns into a crowding fest when the train pulls in.
ReplyDeleteIts funny,(odd funny), I take a combo of bus and train occassionally on LSW. The same people will line up for the bus at Burlington but not for the train at union.
ReplyDeleteI'll take a photo of the line ups going southbound toward Union next time!
ReplyDeletemy boyfriend and I both think that the Richmond Hill line and the Stouffville line have the most amazing people. We feel that the Don Valley water has an affect on them. It is crazy.
ReplyDelete