“The Great Cellphone Debate”
Other Points of View
After reading Jim Cameron’s
suggestions on “Quiet Cars”, here
are some comments from other
commuters on the issue of
cellphones on Metro-North:
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“Absolutely,
I am sick and tired of listening to every "big shot" use his/her
cell phone and I have told some of them to their faces. One guy must have
tried to dial a number 10 or 11 times while in the Park Ave. tunnel. I have
used my phone on occasion - but I turn the keypad tones off and I have the
ringer on vibrate. Simple stuff. The quiet cars would be a great idea.”
Chris Dahm - Redding Ct.
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on Metro
North. Bravo! My vote is a total ban on these things. Kindly let me
know if
there is anyway I can help support this effort.
Thanks,
”Frustrated In Fairfield”
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It is not the use of cell phones per se that is the
problem, but the
consideration or lack thereof of the users. I agree with the person who
stated that a cell phone converation need not be much different than a
converation between two people actually on the train, conducted in well
modulated voices that don't disturb the entire train. Unfortunately, we
have too many people who feel they need to talk in a loud voice, and who
don't give any thought to those around them, both on cell phones and
not. It's more a question of common sense, civility, and consideration.
When I do use my phone I always try to speak quietly, turn my head to
the window, etc. and to keep the calls short. Frankly, more often I am
interrupted from my reading, slepping, etc. by people carrying on loud
conversations on the train, mostly on afternoon trains, than by cell
users.
Eighteen Year Commuter
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“I have to admit
that reading in today's newspaper that this subject is not
only being debated but actually causing people anguish has totally surprised
me! I have spent hours commuting from New Haven to Baltimore to visit my
daughter and her family and had no idea that cell phones were a topic of
controversy.
In this day and age, with cell phones being a lifeline to both our business
and personal lives, it is shocking to me that people have become so
intolerant that they are annoyed by a phone conversation being carried on in
the train car that they are traveling in! Are they also annoyed if
someone
is chatting with the person in the seat next to them? Is there a
difference
between having a conversation on a cell phone or one with a traveling
companion? If these intolerant travelers are living lives that don't
enjoy
the innovations available to us in this century...why is it that they expect
everyone else to stay stalled in the past with them?
I find it amazing that a businessman can now use his commute time effectively
because of
today's technology and be able to work on his laptop as he joins in
a conference
call on his phone and even access the Internet. I applaud the
person that
has figured out how to get the most out of what used to be wasted
time as they
commute to and from the workplace! As for the traveler that is
living in
such a selfish existence that they expect a public transportation ride
to be his
"quiet time"...I say "GET EARPLUGS!!!! This is a train not
a LIBRARY!"
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Until a
recent article in the New Haven Register, I wasn't aware that there
was a cell-phone debate in full swing. I can't tell you how relieved I am
that there is, and that I can hopefully participate by attending the Council
meeting on June 20th in Stamford. I have long fantasized about "quiet
cars",
thinking I was the only person suffering. My commute to New York has become
increasingly intolerable due this maddening problem- people who talk too
loud and long on their cell-phones and others who do not respect the riding
comfort of their fellow commuters by polluting the air with their
unreasonable noise. It has made me anxious to ride and extremely stressed
during the two hour commute each way, every day.
As for Annamarie's pro-cell argument above, she represents exactly the kind
of person who is causing so many of us grief. They feel they have a right to
make as much noise as they need to. And there is no explaining to a person
who is that discourteous and inconsiderate that it's a matter of politeness.
These are people who, as she has unbelievably demonstrated, accuse others of
being "selfish" for being annoyed with THEIR disrespectful conduct.
They're
just rude, ill-mannered people who aren't going to shut up if they don't
want to. Yet if their next door neighbors were to wake them up at 3 in the
morning with loud music (just enjoying the "innovations available to us in
this century"), they would call the police as quickly as the next person;
it
is doubtful they would simply put in some ear plugs. (An uncomfortable,
pointless exercise I've tried many times). Courtesy should be practiced on
the train as in any other situation, (a library being a very good example)
yet people like Annamarie feel entitled to disregard this idea,
unbelievably. (Incidentally, yes- people "chatting" too loud in the
seats
next to them is equally annoying). Therefore, a quiet car is an obvious
solution. Metro North's concern about policing these cars is a weak argument
at best. Announcements and posters might be effective for those one-time
riders who may not have given the idea much thought. We pay Metro North
quite a bit of money for our commute and they owe us a decent, stress-free
ride at the very least. We are their customers, and they are a business that
is obligated to be mindful of our needs and concerns, especially in regards
to peak hour commuters.
Two other points I agree with: 1) MN needs to compensate for the volume of
passengers with more cars- those who board closer to NY should be able to
SIT if they're going to pay for a seat. The crowds of people standing by the
doors is totally unacceptable. 2) MN obviously need to install onboard trash
bins.
Cheryl Elliott
New Haven
bellagraphics@snet.net
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To my fellow train riding passengers,
I've been commuting from Boston to Hartford for quite some time, and cannot
stop laughing from the incredibly pitiful emails sent in from these incredibly
intolerant people. And this is written by someone that doesn't even own a
cellular phone! With all of the confusing health reports about cellular phone
radiation, I'd rather be safe than sorry, but I will still defend anyone's
right to use one! And before Cheryl Elliott jumps in with more ridiculous
analogies (oh come on Cheryl, tell me that someone using a cell phone on a
train is the same as a neighbor blasting music at 3:00am! Do you really believe
that??? I'm laughing hysterically again! I wish Cheryl would write more!) like
movie theaters and libraries, I do believe that there is a place and a time for
everything. And since this is public transportation in the middle of the day,
this qualifies as an acceptable time and place.
Public transportation is just that, transportation for the public. You buy your
ticket, you find a seat (hopefully) the train transports you to your
destination, and you get off. That's it, plain and simple. When you received
your ticket, did it anywhere tell you that you were going to be riding in a
plush, comfortable, quiet train that would whisk you away to your destination
with a minimal of inconvenience? Did it anywhere suggest that you would be
riding in the equivalent comfort of your living room? How about any references
to it being a wonderful place to catch a little shut-eye? And no Cheryl, the
ticket doesn't even promise you a decent stress-free ride does it? You take the
train because it is cheaper and less stress than driving, saves gas, causes
less pollution, they (usually) get you to your destination at the agreed upon
predetermined time, and you avoid the traffic jams. That's it people! If you
can't stand being surrounded by the general public, then the answer is simple.
drive your car! You'll free up an extra seat, and that certainly makes me
happy.
Common commuting trains have always been less than quiet, with the noises of
the brakes, the creaking of the structure, and the noise of the tracks (which
Karl romantically describes as "clackity-clack of the rails" which is
suddenly a noise that he DOES want to hear! Does it bring back fond memories of
Petticoat Junction perhaps?) Adding the sounds of people talking,
laughing, snoring, folding their newspapers, listening to their Walkmans,
typing on their computers, so what? The simple act of reading a book on a train
is something that I've done for years, and no cell phone conversation around me
is enough to prevent me from it. What about the guy that sits down next to you
with bad breath that wants to tell you his life story? Do we need a sign
banning that too? (come to think of it. humm.) And I have to laugh. Karl
actually used the sentence "victimized by cell phone users" Look
Karl, My wife and I were held up in NYC at gunpoint almost a year ago, and
robbed of our money and our jewelry, including our wedding rings of 18 years.
If you're going to use the word "victimized", I suggest you use it
more appropriately. My wife and I were "Victimized". The appropriate
word for your sentence would have been "annoyed". I wish I could have
been merely annoyed that day in NYC. For that matter Karl, you even go so far
as describing the process of dialing and talking into a cell phone as
"fire up the device, beep out numbers and shatter the senses of those
around him with his rude and jarring phone mantra". This sounds less like
a cell phone and more like a chain saw. Come on Karl. "fire up the
device"??? "beep out the numbers"??? Aren't you exaggerating
this just a little too much in your desperation to make your point? The next
thing that we'll hear is that the guy next to you ferociously whipped out his
pencil and boldly scratched words onto his paper in the loudest way possible!!!
I agree that people talking on cell phones should be kept to the same volume
levels as other typical face-to-face conversations, and I'm sorry, but 95% of
the cell phone users that I witness are doing just that. Occasionally someone
with a louder than average speaking voice can be heard, and guess what, that's
life! At the same time I occasionally witness intolerant people making faces at
people talking on cell phones, irregardless of the volume of their voice.
Almost a kind of cell-phone-envy for lack of any better explanation. Just the
mere fact that someone is using a cell phone seems to irritate people. I used
to witness the same thing on airplanes when laptop computers first became
popular. "Look at the big-shot working on his computer". I agree with
Annamarie. Some people are irritated by technology, and by people that use
technology. And even others like to list all of the electrical appliances in
their house and be proud of it! . Still laughing about that one too.
Please people. we're talking about a train ride and nothing more! Become
tolerant, it's a sign of maturity. You might even like it.
Bob from Boston
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As a daily commuter on Metro North I wanted to respond to
Annamarie's
comments in this list where she supports the use of cell phones on trains.
She says that people who are annoyed by noisy phone conversations are
"selfish." I have heard
similar comments from cell phone users whom I have
asked to speak more quietly on the train. "Get with the times!" they say, and
"The law is on my side." Clearly, tempers are
heated on both sides of the issue.
Annamarie goes on to say that "it is shocking to me that people have
become so intolerant that they are annoyed by a phone conversation being
carried on in the train car that they are traveling in!" and furthermore
she "applauds the person that has figured out how to get the most out of
what used to be wasted time as they commute to and from the workplace!"
Wasted time?
There are many of us on the train who, instead of working ourselves into
a frenzy and sharing our jobs loudly with everyone else within earshot,
prefer to put our own stressful jobs out of our minds for awhile and
enjoy the down-time afforded by a long, relaxing commute and, say, read
a book. Now, Annamarie states quite strongly that a train is not a
library and of course she is right. But, a crowded, boxy train car is a
place where consideration and respect for your neighbor are even more
critical than in a library because, quite simply, it's tight quarters and
there is no escape. We are trapped together, hour after hour. I have spent
roughly 10,000 hours on Metro North trains during the last 14 years.
Annamarie asks, "If these intolerant travelers are living lives that
don't enjoy the innovations available to us in this century, why is it
that they expect everyone else to stay stalled in the past with them?"
Many of us who are intolerant are certainly taking advantage of
the technology. I write on a computer, not with pen and
paper. I send emails, few letters. I use complex software when I design,
not glue and paper. I have high speed internet access. My kids play Gameboy
and Nintendo. My rolodex is electronic. I use a microwave oven, a garage
door opener, a DVD player, a digital still camera and a video camera. The
photos of my kids are stored on my hard disk. My wife is using a pedometer
that utilizes geosynchronous satellites to plot her time, location and distance
when she walks. And yes, we own a cell phone, and, like our boombox, we know
when to keep it down or turn it off.
Modern technology has made our lives easier and therefore, better. But,
there is a time and place for using it and it doesn't take a lot of common
sense
to know when those times are. It does take thoughtfulness, though.
Wasted time?
Perhaps Annamarie has been fortunate enough to have avoided loud cell phone
users on her occasional trips to Baltimore. Perhaps she is the one on
the phone. But those of us who commute daily are victimized by cell
phone users constantly. Like Annamarie, I am shocked, but from the other
side of the issue. Many cell phone users seem oblivious to the simple truth
that the majority of his, or her, neighbors are asleep, reading, writing,
trying to carry on a quiet conversation with someone or otherwise engaged in an
activity that requires concentration, including some who are trying to
get work done for the office, without using a cell phone. At least I
hope that they are oblivious because the alternative is that they are
aware, but just don't care.
It's stunning that, just when a car seems to be at its quietest, a cell
phone user, often one who regards the train as a second office with
papers strewn about and calls coming in and going out, will choose this
moment to fire up the device, beep out numbers and shatter the senses of
those around him with his rude and jarring phone mantra, that annoying
one-sided staccato-like burst of conversation that sounds like someone
has abruptly turned on a radio tuned to an annoying and dull talk-radio
program punctuated by pauses.
No Annamarie, talking on a cell phone is not at all like two people
having a conversation. The back-and-forth banter that occurs during a
chat is a natural sound, more easy to drown out. But, individuals who
converse loudly with eachother during a conversation
get the same angry stares as the cell phone user. This is an etiquette
issue that has been around for many decades. Cell phones just add a
new issue to be aggravated about, which we don't need or want. Like a person
sitting next to you mumbling some religious mantra, even a cell phone user who
is not shouting is still annoying her neighbors in front and to her side
as her phone monologue babbles on and on.
Annamarie admonishes us to "Get earplugs!" Unfortunately, they drown
out
all the pleasantries of train travel-like the clackity-clack of the
rails for instance-and just about all that filters through to the
eardrums is the muffled yakity-yak of the soliloquy going on two seats
behind you. "Get earplugs" is the "lie-back-and-enjoy-it"
solution,
since there ain't nothing you can do about it.
But, we can do something about it and have. We can confront the cell phone
user, call our newspapers to make people aware, complain to the company and
eventually change the law. For the moment, the law is on the cell phone user's
side. Remember, people used to be able to blow smoke in your face on the
train, blacks had to sit at the back of the bus and loud jet skis could
drown out a happy beach. Laws aren't always good, and those that
infringe on a person's basic rights will be challenged.
Unfortunately, the inconsiderate cell-phone user is the type many good
people fear to confront because anyone who displays such bully-like
bravado, such arrogance, such self-indulgent behavior, such ignorance of
good manners and such insensitivity for the rights of others is such an
idiot as to be dangerous, or certainly capable of playing the victim
themselves and attacking, verbally of course, the poor individual who
dares suggest that the cell phone user's behavior is out of line. They
can be quite angry and stubborn about defending their right to annoy
you. ("I don't hear anyone else complaining!").
But not all cell phone users are alike. I've seen good people pull out their
cell phones (clearly worried that this is not PC) and quickly make a call to
confirm a lunch or check in with a sitter. I've seen people who were unaware
that their calls were disturbing people around them quiet
down apologetically when
asked to and other individuals stand in the vestibule and make calls huddled
in the doorway, politely acknowledging that his call could disturb his
neighbors. These are the folks to applaud. Courtesy goes a long way. These
cell phone users should be given a place where they can
comfortably make their calls.
Metro North needs to address this and many of us are working to see that
they do. But until then, brevity and consideration in a cell phone call is well
appreciated by other riders.
But, to those other cell phone users that believe they own the joint, I
say hang up.
Karl Gude
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I have been riding on the Metro North New York to
Stamford for three years
now and the ride is getting steadily an unbearable ride. When one can say
that the New York City subway cars are cleaner and quieter, you know we are
in trouble. It is the passengers who are very inconsiderate of fellow
passengers. The use of cell phones has grown considerably and the noise
pollution has caused me to have headaches during the unpleasant trip. I
ride on the 4:46 p.m., 4:53 p.m. and at times on the 3:53, all of them are
very noisy. There are also many passengers that take four seats with
their
belongings and their dirty shoes on the seats. I do not use the seats in
the front because I know they are dirty from passengers dirty shoes. They
spill coffee all over the floors, dump their trash on the floor, on the
seats, wherever. They are downright disgusting, they show no respect at
all
for the employees of Metro North, as if the employees were their servants,
and no regard for the other passengers. This really upsets me to see this
on a daily basis (I am a person that I do not even throw a wrapper on the
street, I wait until I get to a trash can or take it home, one has to have
respect and help keep your community and the trains you ride clean). The
first day I walked onto a Metro North train I was shocked at the condition
of the cars and the behavior of the people, I never saw a train in the
condition before.
Metro North should have rules of conduct like any public facility and
listed on fliers, handed out to the riders and state that the trains are not
their personal garbage dump and that Metro North employees are not there to
clean up after them, and that they are not alone on the train and the other
passengers deserve consideration and should not have to sit in their filth
and listen to their obnoxious loud voices. This situation has
gotten out
of hand and the slobs have taken over the train. After a long day at work
one has to now suffer the long unpleasant ride home.
I am sure that I am not the only person affected by this situation and hope
that this letter adds to the growing list of commuters who would like to
have a clean, peaceful ride.
Thank you for your cooperation
Sylvia Tumminia
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“I whole-heartedly agree on the proposal for quiet
cars! Having some
self-important genius scream all of his / her latest proposals in everyone's
ear has become commonplace on Metro North, and having the opportunity to get
away from these inconsiderate people would be a blessing.
What would be the potential to have petitions at the rail stations or on the
train for cell phone free cars? Regarding papers, magazines etc. left on the
train,
note that
the recycle containers at Grand Central are always full, as are the
trash
containers. Is there a potential to have something on each train? Maybe
one area in
a car, below the seats nearest the door or somewhere where everyone
could ditch
their papers before leaving.”
Anonymous
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Dear Connecticut Commuters:
The issue of people talking too long or too loudly
on cell phones on trains is an issue of rudeness.
Rudeness should not be tolerated on trains, but
unless talking itself is considered rude, people should be allowed to use cell
phones - as long as they aren't rude about it by talking loudly or
incessantly. People should be able to talk on cell phones - on any car -
unless all talking of any kind is also not allowed on a car. But people
who _abuse_ the privilege of talking on cell phones should be told to quiet
down - just as for people who are talking with each other too loudly (although
conductors never do anything about that, either).
The railroad should have a code of passenger
conduct that everyone must follow, and conductors should enforce it. I
oppose creating "quiet cars" unless no talking of any kind is allowed
in those cars.
The railroad should have a code of passenger conduct
that includes at least the following: 1) no feet propped up on seats; 2)
no talking so loud (on phones or with other passengers) that it disturbs other
passengers; 3) no audiable music playing (including music from poorly-designed
earphones); 4) no leaving behind any trash (including newspapers); 5) no taking
up empty seats with belongings unless no one is looking for a seat.
People who disregard these rules, after a warning, should be fined.
We don't need to create special cars for people who
are, for some reason, more irked by people talking on cell phones than they are
irked by other forms of rudeness that are just as common on our trains.
We need ALL the cars to be free from ALL forms of rudeness.
(signed)
Rolf Sjogren (Stamford-NYC
commuter)
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