An “inconsiderate” public transport habit is infuriating Australian commuters, with some saying they have been forced to physically push through crowds simply to leave the train.
The practice of passengers boarding before others have had the chance to alight has become a flashpoint for train users in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast, prompting fresh frustration over basic commuter etiquette.
One Sydney passenger said she reached her limit after arriving at Central Station at about 11pm following a sporting match, where a group of people was gathered immediately outside the Metro doors.
Although the carriage was not full, she said passengers surged inside as soon as the doors opened, leaving those trying to get off with no clear path.
“You’d think people would have half the brain to think that if you let people off first, there would be more space for you on the train,” she said.
“When the train doors opened and they all started to rush in, I just barged my way out and elbow checked everyone out of my way.”
The woman, who is less than five feet tall, said she was fed up with having to weave around people unwilling to wait just a few seconds for passengers to exit.
“I will not let myself be walked all over by inconsiderate individuals who can’t wait five seconds and won’t step aside for people to alight,” she said.
Passengers rushing onto trains before allowing others to get off has emerged as a particularly divisive breach of commuter etiquette, with frustrated Aussies reporting the behaviour in Sydney, Melbourne and on the Gold Coast (stock image)
She said the same public transport problem was also common at Circular Quay, particularly among tourists, and at Parramatta.
‘It’s becoming worse and it’s so annoying. I think I will have to keep resorting to shoving everyone out of the way until people get it through their heads.’
The complaint quickly struck a nerve with other Australians, who said allowing passengers to exit before boarding was once considered one of the most basic rules of public transport.
‘When I was a child the signs everywhere said: “Wait until people alight”,’ one recalled.
Another Sydney commuter said the problem was particularly frustrating on trains in the city’s west: ‘As soon as I go to walk off there’s at least five to 10 people crowding the door trying to push their way past me and the other passengers.
‘At this point I’ve started to be pretty blunt to these people who show no regard for anyone else.’
One confessed: ‘I’ve started either coughing on them or shoulder barging them as I get off the train. I’m so over it that I’ve just started matching their poor behaviour.’
Others said the behaviour could make travelling especially difficult for passengers with accessibility needs.
‘My husband is a wheelchair user and so often, people will just barge on in front of him while he’s trying to get off,’ one woman said.
Some commuters admitted they had started responding to poor behaviour with shoulder barges or other equally antisocial tactics
Another commuter described deliberately standing to the side of the doors to make room for departing passengers, only to have other people use the gap as an opportunity to board ahead of her.
‘It’s as if they are in their own little world and the rest of us are invisible,’ she said.
The frustration isn’t confined to Sydney. One former Surfers Paradise worker said they encountered the same behaviour while catching the tram to work: ‘The number of people who try to push past as you are getting off is genuinely mind-boggling.’
Some commuters admitted they had started responding to poor behaviour with shoulder barges or other equally antisocial tactics. Others argued there was no need for the situation to become physical.
‘A loud “MOVE PLEASE” typically gets the point across without getting physical,’ one said.
What are unwritten rules of public transport?
Letting passengers off before boarding is just one of many behaviours that can turn an otherwise uneventful commute into an ordeal.
Blocking train doors or station escalators is another common source of frustration, especially during peak hour, when a single person stopping in a thoroughfare can hold up dozens of commuters behind them.
Speakerphone conversations and watching videos without headphones have also become modern additions to the public transport etiquette debate.
Letting passengers off before boarding is just one of many behaviours that can turn an otherwise uneventful commute into an ordeal
What might be an ordinary phone call to one passenger becomes compulsory listening for an entire carriage when it’s broadcast through a speaker.
Taking up an additional seat with a bag when other passengers are standing, putting feet on seats and failing to offer priority seating to someone who clearly needs it can all attract the disapproval of fellow travellers.
Then there are the less obvious rules commuters tend to pick up through experience: have your ticket or phone ready at the gates, move further inside a crowded carriage rather than lingering by the doors, and avoid stopping suddenly at the top or bottom of an escalator.
Most of these behaviours come down to the same basic principle: hundreds of strangers sharing a confined space, all trying to get to their destinations as quickly and comfortably as possible.
And letting people leave a train before trying to fill it again isn’t just good manners – it makes boarding easier for everyone waiting outside.
That practical logic is precisely why commuters are so baffled by people who refuse to do it. As one frustrated passenger put it, they only need to ‘wait five seconds’.