CREDIT: DEMARCUS MILLER-DUNCAN
Please, consider basic bus etiquette when on the city bus.

The new year has come and brought a new college term with it. Every morning, we bundle ourselves up in thick jackets and scarves to enter the frigid landscape that is London in January. Winter in London is a battle against the elements. The trudge through knee-deep snow to the bus stop is a challenge that rewards its victors with a title: Student. But the challenges don’t stop upon reaching your destination.

Buses in London have a reputation for being chaotic and deeply frustrating. Dozens of sleep-deprived students aimlessly wander down the aisle trying to decide if today is the day that their exhaustion triumphs over their social anxiety and they sit next to someone. The answer: almost surely not.

Regardless of our shared struggle, there is a complete lack of empathy for those around us and an infuriating absence of basic etiquette principles at play. Fear no longer, for I bring to you some basic instructions to not be the absolute worst person on a city bus. We all have to be there, so let’s at least make it bearable.


For starters, when the driver turns on the speaker and yells out, “Please, move to the back,” they are, in fact, talking to you, random bus goer who looks around in astonishment before returning to their phone. While it may seem impossible, even you can climb three stairs and allow for more people to enter the bus. I believe in you.

You may even note that the bus is growing increasingly full and choose of your own volition to move to the back unprompted. While you will receive no vocal praise, know that I will be silently crying tears of joy.

Does the ascent sound too challenging? Consider the blistering winds of the Canadian winter robbing your classmates of proper circulation. If you don’t move back, the bus will be labeled full and the driver will not stop for anyone, no matter how blue their hands are turning.

The next task is simple but challenging for many. Sitting with your bag beside you is comfortable and is not a problem, until the bus begins to fill up. At this point, I am afraid you must put your bag on your lap. The pain is immeasurable, I’m sure, but sacrifices must be made if we all wish to survive the winter.

To those standing, your bag is just as important, if not more. You see, while you may be tucked near the wall, your bag protrudes much further, blocking any access to the rest of the bus, including the exit. If you simply orient yourself to be facing the front of the bus, movement becomes easy for others and escape routes are opened in case one of us snaps and resorts to cannibalism after a four-hour lecture without snacks.

The final step in this guide may shock you, but no one, and I repeat: no one wants to listen to you hold a phone conversation on speaker or play your TikToks. If you frequently do this, I can only assume that you believe we all find it entertaining, a flicker of meaning given to our hollow lives, but I assure you that your fellow bus-goers are only smiling at the thought of terrible misfortune befalling you, potentially at their hands.

Wear your headphones if you want to listen to something, don’t allow your bag to be a hazard and please, oh god please, move to back of the bus.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.