Coffee and commuting etiquette
 

Dear Aunty P11,

I have an etiquette dilemma I hope you can help me with. Was on a very very packed DART this morning (see post in other thread), and as I was manouvering myself on I had the following exchange with a fellow commuter -- a well spoken bloke in his late twenties. It went something like this

He: "Watch your ****in' coffee!"
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry, did I spill it?"
He: "No, but you might do"
Me: "I'm sorry?"
He: "Look, this is not a canteen, right? You can't just come on with your coffee like that"
Me: "Oh, so I didn't actually spill anything on you"
He: "No"
Me: "Well, I apologise theoretically, then"

(wish I'd thought of more elegant comebacks but there you go).

In my defence, it was one of those polystyrene cups with a little hole in the top you can drink out of. And I was holding it pretty close to my body, so I don't really think anyone was in danger. In fairness it was unusually jammers this morning because of delays -- it's not normally that crowded.

So my question is, was he right? Is it bad form to bring coffee on to a crowded DART?

Wouldn't be too keen to try it myself, in a jammed train what with people standing and pushing back and forth and so on, in my view a person should only carry drinks in a secure container.

That doesn't mean it's wrong, and I think that guy was a little rude. Ok, a lot.

Me thinks Tom is loosing it, the DART commute is not working out

Hot liquid on a crush loaded train is not a good combination, but then again I don't drink coffee so I probably don't understand the addiction

I voted that you were ok as I need coffee to function. However hot drinks on crowded trains is kind of bad.

Answer: F'd if I know. :D

What an ignorant tosser;

'You might'

The sky might fall in if you wait long enough.

I have no problem with people drinking coffee on trains and buses. As long as the container has a sealed covered top. Done it hundreds of times myself on commuter trains all over the world. Can really make the trip more relaxing, especially in winter.

Hey I just had a slightly impulsive, somewhat fully thought out idea. Why don't we get plastic reusable coffee mugs (likes the ones from Cafe Sol with insulated body and sealed lid) with the P11 logo and website addy on the side and sell them on the website? Bet we would sell hundreds of them.

I would buy some.




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CIE CAN'T GET A BUS TO CONNECT WITH A TRAIN

WE ARE PUBLIC TRANSPORT "CUSTOMERS". GOT IT?

As long as you have a lid on the coffee and don't disgard the cup on the DART I can't see any problem with it whatsoever.

That guy just sounds like he has some sort of a problem. Many of us have no choice but to grab a coffee on the DART or the Luas in the morning as, thanks to the pathetic nature of the transport system, we have no time for breakfast so need to eat on the move.

He should just get a life!

Funny you should say that Thomas. I know where to get those coffee mugs at a great price. After that all we need is a P11 sticker to go onto it. Thats the cheapest and quickest way. However these DART commuters are very trendy and an aluminium finish travel mug might not cut it with them.:D

As for the fool complaining to T Bibby about his coffee cup.....apparently Dublin Bus prohibit passengers with coffee/tea and this issue was highlighted on radio recently. Dublin Bus excuse related to safety. (hit the brakes and hot drink goes everywhere and discarded cups cause streams of liquid to flow about the bus floor.) But that reasoning could be applied to any train. But trains have tables? DART has none? Railcars have? Well some of them do. Hmm..... a thorny issue. Anyway, modern design has given us state of the art disposable coffee cups that are safe and convenient for the user. Our public transport overlords haven't realised this yet and don't grasp the concept of having a coffee on the way to work. Of course its easy for them in their mercs with cup holders on the dash.:D

I tried to get on a bus with 2 croissants, orange juice and coffee one morning (I'm secretly homeless :D). The dirver wouldn't let me on with the coffee as I had no lid on it. He waited for me to run into centra to get one which was pretty decent.

Can't beat that at all. Really intelligent and sound. Fair play to the bus driver.

How many stations have coffee sellers on the platform or in the ticket hall? Quite a few. As long as you have a lid on the cup, there shouldn't be a problem, and if IE have a problem with it, they should stop selling it in stations.