英国人通勤时的行为准则

乘坐公共交通工具时，如果旅程太漫长，你会用哪些方式打发时间呢？不少英国人花在上下班路途上的时间要比其它国家的通勤者长得多。我们可以从这些人身上学到哪些消磨时间的好方法呢？在公共交通工具上，有哪些事可以做，而哪些事又最好不做？哪些做法会让人觉得没素质？

 

The average worldwide commute¹ is around 40 minutes. But UK workers are travelling 54 minutes and Londoners commute approximately 80 minutes by car and over two hours by train every day, according to the UK Department of Transport. Drawing on all that travelling experience, what can these commuters teach us about how best to behave during all that time spent in cars, trains, and buses?

 

First of all, travel etiquette² is important. A recent BBC article asked its readers to describe which of their fellow commuters' actions constituted bad manners. Top answers included taking too loudly, eating stinky food and putting feet up on the seats. Several respondents even mentioned a fellow train passenger clipping their toenails in the carriage. Their reactions on this boorish³ behaviour included feeling disgusted, perplexed⁴ and appalled⁵. 

 

A more controversial activity is doing make-up. Opinions varied⁶ on whether this was impolite or inconsiderate. One reader said he was so offended by this conduct, he had to change carriages. However, the idea that make-up should be applied⁷ in private is an outdated⁸ concept, says professional make-up artist Nic Chapman and one half of beauty brand, Pixiwoo. "We are not ashamed of wearing make-up," she told the BBC. Dilruba Khanom told the BBC "I do admire a woman's confidence to not give two hoots⁹ and slap on the face."

 

But a long commute isn't just about negative experiences. Many UK commuters turned to innovative¹⁰ activities to better make use of their time on transport. 37-year-old Ben Yallop, who manages international judicial¹¹ relations at the Royal Courts of Justice, used his daily three-hour trip to write and self-publish two novels. He started "jotting¹² down ideas" for a series of them. "I've done almost all my research, plotting and writing on the train," he tells the BBC. Alternatively, 24-year-old Amy Dickett uses her 90-minute trip to photograph fellow commuters for her Commute Blog. She snaps a picture and asks them to tell her something surprising about themselves. "Usually they are surprised but glad to have some entertainment on an otherwise boring journey. Often the people around us join in and will ask their own questions," she told the BBC.

 

So, no matter where or how long your journey is, take a leaf from the UK commuter's book. Don't antagonise your fellow passengers and rather than staring into space – use your time creatively.

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