Public Transportation Safety Verbosity - Why So Many Words, So Often?
The British say "Mind the Gap." As transportation safety goes, it's succinct and memorable. And it's catachy enough that it's been printed on tee shirts and baseball caps.
The Americans say, "To avoid tripping while stepping off the train, please pay attention to the gap between the platform and the train."
We've also got to listen to admonitions to "Remain vigilant at all times," every 90 seconds, at South Station. "Remember, if you see something, say something."
Now, this alert takes common sense in all kinds of precarious directions. Suspect the person sitting next to you. Look for an excuse to rat them out. Behave within strictly limited parameters to avoid being reported yourself!
But hearing it every 90 seconds undoes the urgency, anyway, so it just becomes another part of the background chatter. It goes from police state propaganda right down to subliminal reprogramming.
I pity the poor vendors and maintenance staff that work in the station and have to listen to that calm voice calmly preaching aggressive vigilance all day long. They must hear it in their sleep.
Why do we need so many public announcements, and why they have to be so damn verbose? Can't they save the PA system for letting us know when the trains are running late?
What's it like in your area? Are you pummelled with safety announcements in
public spaces?
I couldn't agree more. Announcements at train stations and on the trains themselves have become background white noise that I just tune out. I used to live (kind of) above a local train station in Mumbai. Sion is one of the most used transit points in the city and my studio was right across the station, 5 floors above the tracks. I would hear announcements in my sleep - in Marathi, Hindi and English. They start at about 3 50 a.m and end at 1: 15 a.m. I got used to it after a while but I would always wonder WHY they had to announce more than just which train was coming in three languages every 2 minutes.
Oh wow - so you were literally hearing those announcements in your sleep! Good grief. At least South Station is pretty well-enclosed, and all the buildings around it are office towers. But I'm sure zoning is a lot more mixed-use in India, as much as it exists at all!
Haha, I would know what time it was when I woke up to use the bathroom because of the announcements. No clock needed! Sure, zoning is more mixed use but in most areas it is adapted and readapted to incremental change.
You've got a great blog, by the way. Well thought-out, information rich articles, good pictures, succinct writing. Well done.
You've made my day! Thank you so much for checking it out. I try. I'm taking my time with steemit and I really do enjoy putting out content that I would otherwise just keep to myself.
In Cambodia there are no such safety announcements, actually you drive in the street with holes that are like traps! Living the wild life!
'Mind the Gap' evokes in a funny and playful way the cultural differences between Americans and British most visible of the daily life.
I cannot say we have excellent public announcement system in our railway stations (India) but it's fair and good to go type thing....People can hear the announcement if they pay careful attention as they make announcement in English ,Hindi ,and Bengali as I stay in West Bengal India so it's fair like I'll rate 2/5 there is also a digital display board so passengers can check the info this is how it's working here in India ......Therefore....
Public transportation is convenient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly, and transit systems are designed and patrolled to keep riders safe.
Where I am the train goes all day and night, but since it's a freight-only line there's no PA or any stations, just the horn. (In fact, there's one now!) When I first came here it took a while to get used to hearing the trains' horn and track rumble, especially at night because they go crazy on the horns at night for whatever reason.
As far as being bombarded with PSAs, thankfully no. There are digital signs in front of the schools and banks that show time, weather and the like. That's not too invasive though ☺
So, it's been some time now. Overall, how are you liking your routine, the commute, the job? Is it (semi-)permanent?
Oh yeah, I'm loving all of it! It's a permanent full time job, and it came along at a great time. I work with some real characters and even the "bad" customers are worth a story or three.
Only down-side is I'm out of the house for 12 hours a day - combined commuting time is 4 hours round trip! At some point we may sell this place and move. The dream would be to get a one-bedroom apartment downtown. But until then the drive is my music time, the train ride is my relaxing/reading/writing time, and the walk is exercise time, so it all works out. Even if it's quite a change from going for weeks without leaving the house.
What a drag to have to listen to the sound of the freight cars (though I love the sound of trains) and not be able to get a ticket and ride with them. I'd be tempted to jump on, hobo style.
It's great to hear you have embraced the change and accepted the 'good' with the 'bad'. You must have endless material for your work with all the new faces and places you've been seeing.
Yeah you two can buy a nice loft space or something and go into a comfortable early working retirement phase. I can imagine you throwing swanky dinner parties in a chill rooftop space.
A plus to waiting for the train to pass free admission to a high-speed gallery of tags and similar art. Never know what masterpiece might pass by!
Verbosity is the surest sign of witless mind.
It's good to have public announcement in some area of daily activities to save many life's. Thanks for sharing this