In August of 2007 I wrote this:
Yes, you’re sick of hearing it. Yes, I’m sick of complaining about it. But this time, I am offering a solution.
Regarding the commute. I now realize that what makes people dread it is not the amount of time, but all the annoying people. To me, the most annoying thing is the noise – the woman who clears her throat every thirty seconds (I timed her), the children who scream at the top of their lungs, the drunk adults, the cell-phone talkers… you get the idea.
I don’t use the commute as a means to communicate with other people. Its sole purpose is to get me to work, but since it is more than an hour, it might as well be a relaxing ride. IT’S NOT when all those people won’t STFU (sorry, had to use the acronym).
So, here’s my brilliant solution – a “quiet” car. One train car could be dedicated for those who wish to ride in silence. You pay a premium price and are guaranteed a relaxing ride. No kids scream. No one talks on their phone. No one talks to their friend/family/neighbor. Sorry. Just silence. All you would have to listen to would be the train on the tracks and the announced stops.
Yes, I’m really losing it. I’m just so frustrated with the screaming children that cause me to re-locate my seat each night.
Yeah, you could say that was a little bit whiny.
Well, guess what was enacted on all Metra lines yesterday, June 6th?
Quiet Cars! Almost four years later, I am getting my wish! Quiet car rules are as follows:
The rules are simple: No cell phone calls. If passengers must answer their phones, they should make it brief or move to the vestibule or another car. Conversations are discouraged; if they must be held they should be short and in subdued voices. All electronic devices must be muted, and headphones should not be loud enough for anyone else to hear.
Quiet Cars will apply to all inbound trains arriving downtown before 9 a.m. and all outbound trains leaving downtown between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
As with the pilot program, Metra expects Quiet Cars to be largely enforced by peer pressure and conductor intervention when necessary. Many riders said that having a rule in place empowered them to ask noisy people to be quiet or move. Conductors will carry small notices that they can discreetly present to passengers who are violating the quiet car rules.
I rode on a Quiet Car yesterday morning to work, and it was quiet until a few stops to downtown when some people started having a loud conversation. Hopefully passengers will soon get the hang of it.
Would you ride in the Quiet Car?
Sometimes I don’t mind being in a noisy car. In fact, there is one car that is kind of like a party car – and I used to ride in it. I would rather be surrounded by a lot of noise or none. Just a few loud conversations makes me nuts.
Guess I am still a bit whiny, four years later.
I would have loved a quiet car when I was in nursing school since I studied a lot on the train. There was always that ONE person who would talk on their cell phone the entire way downtown….and this was early in the morning, who are you talking to??? I didn’t necessarily mind so much on the way home since after being in school all the day the last thing I wanted to do was to study again, and I loved the guys with their beer on Friday afternoons! But I definitely think people should have the option to ride in silence.
Even when I go downtown for race weekends I want a quiet car. There was a story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110518/us_yblog_thelookout/loud-cell-phone-talker-removed-from-quiet-car-by-police
I couldn’t believe she could get that many hours from her cell phone for one thing but I would probably have been cheering when they booted her butt off the train!
Ha! That story is awesome. I have the same thought – how could she talk that long?
I wondered how these would go over… and if they are popular, will they add more?
Because yeah- some of the conversations I overhear… ugh…
Each train during rush hour (except the short trains) will have two quiet cars. I am wondering how well it will work though!
Quiet cars have been on Amtrak for ages and ages. I used to commute Philly-NYC every day (75 minute ride) and they were a GODSEND. The best part was that people would get *furious* when it was disobeyed. It rarely happened, but once a week or so when some jackass either didn’t notice or thought he could just whisper a phone call, the whole car would erupt. Of course, it will need conductor support, too – on Amtrak, they will make people leave the quiet car if they’re talking. It’s awesome.
Nice! In college, each dorm had a quiet floor. The hubs thought about moving off of his noisy, party-like floor for the quiet one… until he found out he actually DID live on the quiet floor, it just wasn’t enforced. :S
Katie got to try a Metra quiet car a month or two ago in the pilot phase. She said it was heaven. I’d definitely do it if given the chance v
That is pretty cool! I have often rode the train into NYC and it is so nice to have it quiet in the morning. That way i can sleep or read or just enjoy the scenery.
We have quiet cars on our trains. It’s always the car next to the engine so everyone always knows which one is quiet (they also have signs). I don’t usually like to sit on the quiet cars though. I’m not noisy but some of the people who sit on the quiet car are a little crazy about it. I don’t like how uptight some of the people are. I usually just put my headphones on and drown out most of the noise on my way in. I don’t mind the noise on my way home and can still usually sleep through it. But our trains are small (3 cars) and we rarely have children. There is one child who seems to ride daily in the past 6 months or so (with no end in site) but he’s usually in good spirits so it doesn’t bother me so much. I sometimes move to a different car if he bothers me.
I have never ridden in a “Quiet Car” that was truly quiet for an entire trip. My favorite excuse? “All the other cars were full, and we want to talk, so tough crap.” – Peer pressure enforcement doesn’t always work because too many people just don’t care. Still, they seem to run quieter than regular cars, so there’s that.
Oh, my gosh, that is like a dream come true. You mean I wouldn’t have a screaming banshee of a kid stomping on my toes every three seconds?! Heaven.
<3 <3
Ha. I really doubt parents will make their kids shut up on these cars. Hopefully they see the designation and find a different car to sit in. Kids just get too excited on the train!
I so wish the CTA could enact this (yeah right!). Loud people on the train irritate me as well. I just want to zone out and it’s so difficult when people are being noisy or I can hear your music even when you have headphones on. I hope that the quiet cars on the Metra work out well!
Best. Idea. Ever.
Yes! This is a genius idea. I rarely take public transit because its icky around here, but I’d consider it more if I could get away from the crazies and sit in a “quiet car”. Once, the couple behind me on the skytrain got into a giant fight and actually started hitting each other. They were also high on crack or something similar. It was fun.
I’d be a quiet car super fan. I’ve gotten into the habit of putting in earplugs as soon as I get onto a plane. I can still hear the announcements, but generally, people get the idea that I don’t want to talk to them and I don’t get as much of a headache from all of the noise.
Genius! That is a really awesome idea. I would definitely ride in one. I HATE HATE HATE having to listen to other people’s conversations. It’s not even really that they’re bad conversations; I just feel weird and uncomfortable listening to them.
Chicago should hire you as a planner for their transit system! Kim, Quiet Car Commissioner!
Ha ha. You crack me up.
I dislike listening to other people’s conversations too. But sometimes, people are so loud and obnoxious, I think they WANT you to listen to whatever stupid thing they are talking about.
I am SO GLAD they are implementing these!! In the morning, I am a grouchypants who wants a quiet ride. In the evening, I am a chatterbox who annoys others. Ha. I wish I had the flexibility of a choice. It is SO NICE that they are not making everyone be quiet, but that there is a special space for people who DO want quiet. I would ride one in the morning and the other in the evening!
One of the things I’ve always loved about my commute is it’s my time in my car. I can listen to NPR, rock out to music or get lost in my own thoughts. But, I get to choose whether it’s loud or not. It’s one of those things I always knew I’d hate about public transportation – no control over other people’s noise. The idea of a quiet car really appeals to me – everyone deserves some peace and quiet during their commute if that’s what they want!
We rode in a quiet car in England, but of course there they said something like “Silence your mobile.”
That is so cool – they must have been reading your blog!
It’s been years since I’d ridden a commuter rail (we have light rail here in Salt Lake), but I would ride in the quiet cars if available. I love my technology and gadgets, but am more than happy to silence them and just use my iPad or iPhone for doing work.