Transit Chatter

A couple of days ago, The London Paper ran a story about how the officials at the London Underground are discouraging their drivers from using the public address system in order to reduce passenger annoyance. Apparently, many passengers are upset by the large amount of information that comes through the intercom during their commute to work.

I personally think that this is all hogwash. Sure, it can get a little annoying to have such a cacophony of sound bombard your ears when you’re tired and not looking forward to going to work, but giving train operators the flexibility to customize announcements over the loudspeakers makes the ride much more personal and comfortable than hearing a silly automated recording saying “Please, Mind the Gap.”

While the operator should be limited in what kind of messages they can convey, having a personal touch to the message rather than a cold and lifeless recorded voice will make the ride much more pleasurable for all the people on the train: it assures people that their train is not only being operated by a human, but by someone who is approachable and friendly.

Without personalized announcements, you would miss gems such as:

The Bakerloo line is running normally today, so you may expect delays to all destinations.

The London Paper also included this very humorous quote:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I do apologize for the delay to your service. I know you’re all dying to get home, unless, of course, you happen to be married to my ex-wife, in which case you’ll want to cross over to the Westbound and go in the opposite direction.

While some people may find these kinds of announcements extreme, they do a lot to make people less pressured and more at ease in times of high stress like train delays during rush hour. They often bring a smile to faces that would otherwise be covered in scowls, and in general, help lighten the demeanor of the passengers. Asking operators to say the bare minimum will only do more to anger and irritate passengers who are in need of more information delivered in a light-hearted manner.