If there’s one thing we love, it’s adventure. Travel is something magical, and it really ups the quality of your life. That being said, let’s not be naive—long trips can be a real pain when you’re stuck in a bus or on a train. Especially if you’re tired and surrounded by entitled people who ignore everyone’s personal boundaries and have incredibly loud conversations on their phones.
Redditor u/Shadow_of_the_moon11 faced this exact problem. She shared how she got on an overnight bus for an international students’ trip, but one passenger kept having a phone conversation while everyone else was trying to get some shut-eye. Annoyed and craving sleep, she decided that it was time for some petty revenge. Check out the full story below!
Bored Panda reached out to the author of the viral story, u/Shadow_of_the_moon11. She told us more about what happened and shared her thoughts about unruly passengers on transportation. Check out our interview with her!
It would be wonderful if the people around us would be more mindful of their surroundings and how their behavior affects everyone else
Image credits: peus80 / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)
One internet user shared how she got revenge against a fellow bus passenger who could not stop speaking on the phone at night
Image credits: drazenphoto / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Shadow_of_the_moon11
Not every passenger feels comfortable verbally calling out someone who's being disruptive on public transport
The author told us that she didn’t expect her story to get so much attention online. She thinks that its popularity might be linked to the fact that her experience was so universal: lots of different people go on long journeys and witness disruptive passengers.
Bored Panda asked u/Shadow_of_the_moon11 how the loud passenger behind her reacted when she reclined her seat.
“She didn't react. I think, because she was American, she was on the phone at this time because it was more convenient with the time zones but still clearly didn't consider that while it might have been an appropriate time in the States, it wasn't an appropriate time here,” she shared her interpretation of the situation.
The author revealed to us that she is autistic, so she finds many social situations difficult to handle. “I do think it's very important to just treat everybody with respect and to show kindness, but that doesn't mean that you don't stand up for yourself if somebody is mistreating you,” she told Bored Panda.
According to the OP, transportation staff should definitely intervene more in these sorts of situations.
“On trains, I've even seen signs telling people not to have loud phone calls because it's disruptive, and that's during the day,” she said. “I suppose in this scenario, the driver didn't really have to do anything because that behavior wasn't really hurting anybody, but passengers shouldn't be feeling like somebody else's behavior is so disruptive that they have to take matters into their own hands.”
There are various ways that you can tackle these sorts of situations, but it's best to do what aligns with your values
Sometimes, the best revenge is the most straightforward. That’s exactly the attitude that u/Shadow_of_the_moon11 embraced. In order to teach the impolite and entitled bus passenger a lesson, they simply used their reclining seat. It quickly put an end to the entire problem.
A lot of internet users were impressed by the story. It also inspired them to share their own experiences with folks who talk way, way too loudly on the phone.
We’re all super busy living our own lives, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t be courteous, kind, and aware of our surroundings. A good rule of thumb in life is not to behave in a way that you would find to be hurtful or annoying.
The reality is that some people lack self-awareness. They might never have been called out for their rude behavior before or think it’s their right to do whatever they choose. Or they might be genuinely kind-hearted and have good intentions but have no clue how their behavior affects the people around them.
They might not know that they’re causing other people problems. Sometimes, a gentle reminder from the folks around them is enough to set them on the right path. Sure, it might be a tad awkward or embarrassing to bring the topic up, but many people are reasonable and happy to change for the better.
But the important thing is to bring the issue up. Aloud! Nobody’s a mind-reader. Sometimes, people might lose track of time or not realize that their incredibly loud phone conversations are, in fact, incredibly loud. Of course, there are other ways to handle entitled and loud people.
You could cough very loudly so they understand they’re being a nuisance. You could look them right in their eyes, meaningfully, hoping they get the (not so) subtle hint. You could ask the bus driver or other figure of authority if they could help manage the situation. Or you could do what the author of the story did and recline your seat to send a very obvious signal that you’re trying to sleep.
Transportation staff should be proactive and step in to defuse tense situations
Generally, it’s better to err on the side of politeness when you’re traveling with strangers. Don’t be obnoxiously loud. Don’t litter. Don’t invade their personal space. Don’t eat food that has strong smells. In general, be as friendly as you can!
However, it’s understandable that there’d be at least some friction between passengers if the trip goes on for hours and hours. It’s inevitable that some folks let down their guards while others let their social ‘masks’ slip a little. It’s exhausting keeping up appearances in public. Who you are in private starts to leak out… with all the pros and cons that this entails.
Meanwhile, if a passenger is causing a ruckus, the bus drivers themselves have a few options on how to handle things. They could, for example, ask them to knock off the chaotic behavior over the bus speaker. Or they could pull the entire bus over and speak to them in person.
How they handle these situations is going to vary a lot. In some cases, the drivers might want to use humor to de-escalate the tension. In other cases, they might need to be more direct than diplomatic (while still remaining professional) to warn the passenger about the possible consequences of their actions.
In the worst-case scenario, the drivers always have the option to kick the passenger off the bus if they’re being particularly unruly. However, it might be best to do so somewhere with public transport access, not in the middle of a random road in the woods…
Many readers loved the story, shared their thoughts, and interacted with the author
Other internet users shared stories of their own about entitled and rude people
