CHICAGO BUS RIDERS

Chicago-ans have no damn clue about bus-riding etiquette.

Ever since I moved to The Windy City 2 years ago and started taking public transportation on a regular basis, I could not help but notice that people in this city have yet to figure out why there is a 2nd door installed on the bus.

Case in point: took the bus to Dave's on Tuesday. Bus ride took about 15-20 mins and the bus was 1/4 full throughout the time I was on it. I counted no fewer than 8 people who, when it was time to alight, chose to get off via the front door instead. Of these 8, at least half of them were closer to the back door!

It's totally understandable if the bus is packed and one is much closer to the front door and thus would choose to exit via there instead of pushing and shoving all the way to the back door. However, that doesn't seem to be the case most of the time. If only I had a dollar everytime I saw someone gets up from his/her seat and makes for the front door when it would be EASIER to get off through the back.

To make matters worse, there is even a sign on just about every CTA bus advising passengers to get off via the back door. If that is not enough, an automated announcement is made on the bus once every 2 minutes that goes something like "please get off the bus from the back door to avoid unnecessary delays."

Is it just me who was brought up in a city where the first instinct when getting off a bus is to alight from the back door? Or do I now live in a world where the back door is shunned for some unknown reason?

The mystery remains unsolved.