Have you ever boarded a bus to find that you have nowhere to sit because another rider is hogging several seats? Are you privy to a fellow rider’s family drama because you couldn’t avoid a lengthy and loud cell phone conversation during your ride? Or have you (yes, YOU!) ever fallen asleep on the bus, nestled up against a stranger, after a long day at work?
Sometimes, we all need to take a mindful look at our own behavior on the bus. Though most of us are well-meaning, we can all fail to be respectful of others, even without realizing it. Capital Metro’s new courtesy campaign, Pain in the Bus, issues friendly reminders for all riders to be considerate of others, so that everyone experiences a pleasant and comfortable commute.
We are taking a humorous approach to communicating ways to avoid causing some of the serious courtesy issues faced by our riders. A series of comical placards, featuring some of the most egregious infractions on good manners, are being rolled out onto buses this year.
Hopefully, you don’t recognize any of these characters. Or if you see yourself in any of these examples, please be more cognizant of others and mind your manners!
The Blockhead keeps others from getting on or off the bus.
The Fine Diner risks having his cookies tossed on the moving bus, and ruining the ride for others with drippy spills and noxious-smelling foods.
The Sleeping Beauty’s napping habits make for an unsafe ride.
The Delusionist doesn’t notice or doesn’t care that no one is impressed with his distracting tricks, slowing everyone down.
The Loudmouth leaves fellow riders with an earache, proudly voicing his opinions, counseling others and sharing the latest gossip.
The Coin Collector holds up others when, after boarding, he slowly counts coins to pay his fare.
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Joel Keith, an Austin-based comic, is star of the web series The Hungry Todd Rungy Show, engaging in weird and funny antics. Cast in Capital Metro’s Pain in the Bus campaign, Keith portrays seven different crass bus riders on their worst behavior. He will appear at the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival Labor Day weekend in 2016.
CapMetro Blog 
What about the pain bus driver that DOESN’T KNOW THE FARE OPTIONS? I’m talking about MetroAccess MONTHLY pass being valid on ALL buses. He waited 10 minutes trying to make me get off, which I didn’t. I told him to call dispatch but he said he didn’t have to. I showed him the Metro website where it says that. I then called 512-474-1200 and talked to them. By the time it got done I was where I was going. He was then 10 minutes down. Teach new bus drivers all fare options including MetroAccess MONTHLY pass onapp.
Hi Bill. We apologize for this happening. Can you send us more details as to date this happened, the bus route, and the approximate time so we can report it? ^HD
Already reported and they said his supervisor would be notified. The problem is really the handouts in n training do not show Metro Access Monthly app as acceptable on fixed route buses. Can driver training be addressed? I really like 801 and 803 fare boxes since driver doedsn’t need to know anything. Just get QR code up and scan.
What about Pain bus driver that doesn’t know all payment options? MetroAccess MONTHLY pass is good on everything
You should add one about the passenger that smells like poison you know the ones with too much perfumes or colognes on to your courtesy campaign. Also please give passengers options to purchase reduced fare passes on their smartphones that would cut down on those “coin collectors’.
Would it be possible to address manspreading? Daily issue for regular riders
PS — These are great, though! Glad to see CapMetro addressing passenger courtesy issues.
Some people have a condition where they will be extremely sleepy on any vehicle.
You ought to put the delusionist on every vehicle. Distracting the driver is common. People forget that the driver is not a ‘friend’ when they are on the clock–this is a job and the driver is not supposed to be entertaining them/being entertained.
Ditto for the blockhead. People need to sit down instead of standing in the aisles when there are plenty of empty seats. It will not make the bus go faster. The bus can only go the legal speed limit.
Missing the driver that has their child riding the bus she is driving for the whole shift.
What about cartoons of the drivers or do we need to make movies to send to teportit@kxan.com?