It’s getting uncomfortable in Berlin. Out on the street – and therefore also inside in the subways. Because as soon as autumn comes, many Berliners switch from bicycles to public transport. Fuller wagons and fewer seats – that also means: greater potential for conflict. There is pushing and jostling, talking on the phone, eating. And not always in such a way that the other passengers can relax and overlook it.
There is a whole bunch of annoying Berlin archetypes that have a negative impact on their environment, especially in local public transport. And at least as many rules of conduct that need to be followed if you don’t want to be one of those unbearable pushers, bumpers and drummers. We have summarized the dos and don’ts of public transport for you.
WHEN ENTERING AND DEPARTING
DON’T: Like a Berghain bouncer, many a Berliner posts himself in front of the opening subway door and looks stupid at the way those who are getting off look stupid. move to the side? make room? Not with that annoying public transport guy who thinks the subway and the subway platform – what – the whole city belongs to him. That’s why he likes to march confidently into the wagon before anyone can get out.
DO: Let the others get off before you get on yourself. Sounds really easy, doesn’t it? Completely inexplicable why so many Berliners still don’t stick to this old truism. Make it better: Your place is to the right and left of the subway doors until the boarding path is really clear for you!
The BVG punishes those who come too late: You should only open the doors for others in exceptional cases.Imago
DON’T: There, there’s another one coming! Way back there, at the end of the subway platform! In the course of an inexplicable philanthropy, which normally plays a rather subordinate role in Berlin, many a subway passenger feels obliged to keep the doors open. Open to those who would otherwise miss the train. With a patronizing grin, they stand in the blinking, hooting doors until the last straggler has scrambled in to the car. Nice for the latecomers – stupid for everyone else on the train. Being late is simply transferred to them.
DO: Everyone is responsible for their own time management. Sounds harsh, but it is like that. In a city where the nearest subway is only five or ten minutes away, you don’t have to feel sorry for anyone who has a train pull away in front of them. Exceptions confirm the rule, of course, and so it is quite appropriate for the elderly, the sick or the infirm, as well as for families with prams, to hold the door and train open. Otherwise, however, the BVG will punish anyone who comes too late.
The next stop is sure to come: in a full carriage, no one should ever stand up while the train is moving.Imago
DON’T: The subway doors have only just closed, the train is slowly starting to roll again, the next station is a good three minutes away – and the first strenuous passengers are already jumping up to push their way through the fully occupied carriage, apparently driven from the absurd fear that one could simply miss the next exit. It’s stupid, especially for those standing around who have to reposition and arrange themselves, let go and change their grip during the jerky ride. The whole car is quickly busy just because one person wants to get off – in three minutes if the exit flow would start anyway.
DO: Trust a bit in the BVG and their entry and exit times. They may be tight, but you’ll manage to get off the train on time – even without ringing the exit half an eternity before the next stop as a precaution. The car stops, you get up, the other guests make room – and you’re outside. Getting out can be so easy.
WHILE STANDING
DON’T: Don’t stop in the boarding area, go further to the back, use the whole wagon – many grumpy comments from other passengers and countless subway driver announcements in the best Berlin manner later, many passengers still didn’t understand that. Consequently, they come to a stop directly behind the subway doors in order to linger there for the next 14 stations. Of course, more examples of this type are added at every station and soon a cluster of stoic people has formed, making it simply impossible to get on or off, or to get through. each. damned. Times.
DO: Are you going – You’re welcome – just keep going backwards. It is not that hard! And those who try it will actually be rewarded: with a relaxed ride and sufficient freedom of movement. Because there are so many dozy Berliners who obstinately stand in the entrance area, there is usually plenty of space in the corridors and accordion-like transitions.
It’s best to have everything under control: the handrails are not always used as intended.Imago
DON’T: The train is full, the ride bumpy, you have to hold on. How good that there are handrails and loops in all trains and buses. Unfortunately, you can’t always use them. Because there are always passengers who prefer to claim such a practical part all to themselves. They lean casually against it, their whole body pressed against the bar. Also unbearable: those fellow passengers who have to change hands every 30 seconds and tend to overlook the fingers and hands of others: suddenly the sweaty hand of the greasy guy over there lays on his own – and the day is over.
DO: Of course you can stand and lean how and where you want – as long as the track is relatively empty and there is enough space. However, if the train is packed, reserve the handrails for those who— I agree – want to hold on. A good rule of thumb: There should be about three centimeters of space between your own hand and the other hand to avoid unwanted contact even on the bumpiest ride.
WHEN SITTING
DON’T: Yay – there’s still a free seat on the train! Back there, in the foursome, the one by the window! You happily head for the free spot, you look expectantly into the eyes of your soon-to-be seated neighbor – and he does nothing. He remains seated, stoically looking straight ahead; no slipping, at most the legs are slightly drawn in so that the newcomer can squeeze more difficult than right in the direction of the seat. Other specimens of this type leave half their belongings on the actually free area; reluctantly put away backpacks, bags, shopping bags only after being asked to do so. Friendly is different.
DO: Is there a seat by the window next to you? And someone would like to take a seat? Then simply move up so that the person who has joined does not have to clamber over you. Or do you want to get off at the next station? Fair enough – then stay seated in the aisle, but please twist and turn in such a way that the new passenger can easily get through.
Stomach out and legs wide: the manspreader is up to mischief in the subways of our city.Imago
DON’T: Much has already been said about the Manspreader said and written, that intolerable subgenus of the man who spreads his legs so wide as if he were about to undergo a gynecological examination. It’s clear – our world is in many places as if it only belonged to men. But she doesn’t do it either, especially in the subway. To the Manspreader it doesn’t matter, he and his supposedly relaxed, casually spread legs take up a good one and a half seats. It’s annoying – so much that you have to Manspreader would really like to have a gynecological examination. And one of the most unpleasant kind.
DO: It may sound surprising to some men, but you can also sit comfortably and loosely without positioning your legs at a 180-degree angle to each other. And in the subway you should do that: position your legs so that there is enough space to sit on either side of you and nobody has to stare at your ostentatiously presented crotch. A good measure is your own seat: if your legs don’t far exceed the edges of the seat, you’re sitting well.
DURING THE MEAL
DON’T: Quickly biting off a roll, just putting a piece of croissant in your mouth – nobody really has anything against that. After all, the subway also serves as a place for breakfast for many passengers on a stressful morning. But there are always people who don’t stop at cold snacks. A doner kebab with extra garlic sauce, a steaming china box, a cardboard bowl full of currywurst with fries – we’ve all seen it on the Berlin subway. And above all: smelled.
DO: Anything that smells intense has no place in the subway. It’s that simple. Eat your kebabs and fried noodles where they belong: at home. Or just on the street.
AND OTHERWISE …
DON’T: Sure – it is extremely tempting to abuse the subway as a moving van. To save the 20 euros for a rented seal and to transport the eBay classifieds find by train. But it gets annoying when certain people overdo it. They block the subway door with cupboards and chests of drawers; entire tabletops are pushed diagonally into the wagon. Also unpleasant: This constant taking of bulky bicycles with you, with which you – surprise – could also get ahead without the subway. Cycling or train travel: you have to make a decision.
DO: Only take what you can carry yourself. And what makes it impossible for anyone to get on and off. And if you do have to transport something larger by train, then please get on at the front or at the back of the carriage – and leave the stuff where nobody can go through anyway.
A good combination only in theory: everything that smells has no place in buses or trains.Imago
DON’T: Whole books could be written about what you overheard on the subway against your will. Family quarrels discussed on the phone, relationship dramas, soap-like narrative strands that go on forever: again and again you are confronted with other people’s problems on Berlin trains. It can be entertaining at times, but most of the time it’s unbearably annoying. Especially since it has become fashionable to talk nonchalantly on loudspeakers. But it doesn’t have to be the nerve-wracking long-distance call. Loud direct conversation is also cultivated in our city’s subways. Whether those sitting around want to listen or not.
DO: The next train station will definitely come – just get off the train if you really need to make a phone call! Or put the caller off until another time. It is not for nothing that most of the popular news services have “call me later” ready as a pre-programmed message.