Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Trams...



Pic from here

One thing I don't understand about Melbourne is why everybody hates the trams. I would like to go on record as saying I have never been late because of a tram. I actually really enjoy catching them. Whenever I get the tram everybody seems so down. Why is it normal to be pissed off on public transport? No one ever smiles.

I find it's a bit of an adventure. Sure, sometimes its a bad adventure but its an adventure none the less. You never know who you might get to sit next to. It might be a lovable tramp, or a hot nurse, or a mum and her green nosed kid. I catch the number 19, so usually it's only students and worker bees heading into the hive.

There are two things I love to do on the tram. One thing I like to do is to turn my ipod off and listen to the things people talk about when they think you aren't listening. You would be surprised how many people will discuss their intimate lives with a stranger sitting next to them.



Pic from here

The other thing is to turn my ipod up real loud and pretend everyone else can hear the music too. It often seems like people are tapping along or nodding their heads to the same tunes I am. This little exercise often ends in me wishing I could break out in a spontaneous dance routine like they do in musicals. Everyone on the tram would immediately know the moves and be in the mood to shake off their worries with a little dance off.

Catching the tram doesn't have to be miserable. I have a mission. Every time I catch the tram from now on I am going to try to make one other person smile. So if you see a girl dancing alone to her ipod on the 19 the least you can do is smile...

13 comments:

  1. I really like the trams too, much more than trains. The 19 is the tram I always catch and I think it's lovely, though going up or down Sydney Rd in peak times can be rather tedious.

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  2. I'm with you on the tram love! I had a lovely encounter on one of the old W class trams last year. :)

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  3. Somehow the new trams just don't have the soul of the old W Class
    , or the lack of speed, or Spartan comfort levles, or extranious noise.
    Love em.

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  4. Trams are awesome. I virtually lived on the free tram around the Melbourne CBD. We have trams here in Hong Kong as well - double decker ones! Hmmmm. I think you've given me an idea for a new blog post! :-D

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  5. i LOOOOOOVE the trams! and the trains!! i love catching public transport, its always an adventure, i enjoy hearing peoples conversations and seeing what people are wearing, and its so lovely when you sit next to someone who wants a chat.

    i catch the 112 which is often a bit scary but always entertaining!!

    i dont understand why everyone always is so miserable though!!

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  6. I love trams as well! I really miss them here in Sydney. Sometimes I catch the light rail here, even though it's expensive, just to feel like I'm on a tram.

    There will be lots of tram-catching this weekend for me!

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  7. I love the tram as much as I love the train!!! They are both the best places for eavesdropping, dreaming, creating, people watching, reading ... so I rest my case. :)

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  8. Once a random guy sitting next to me on a tram offered me some of the food he was eating... haha

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  9. yeh i dont mind the tram. better than trains. i'd prefer to be on a tram than sitting in a car, stuck at traffic lights. at least on the tram you can do stuff like drawing or reading!

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  10. I love trams!! I always prefer a tram ride into the city over the train. And I especially love the older style trams over the super duper new trams with hardly any seating and no personality : )

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  11. The worst thing about trams is the lucky dip of drivers you get, the traffic that gets in the way, and the traffic that is held up by them. As a tram user and a driver, I can only sit in despair at how slow trams go sometimes, while cars turning right constantly block them, and then other vehicles at intersections. The worst is along roads that are wide enough for a lane and a half each way with parking on the side and trams (see Lygon St Brunswick). It's virtually impossible to get anywhere in a timely fashion, only causing frustration. I don't want to lose the city's trams. They help make this city what it is, but massive change needs to occur, and that includes the lengthening the time of clearways on roads that people need to use - or- much more costly, move all tram lines to one side of the road instead of them being in the middle... yeah, that last idea would never get the money up and have businesses along strips crying... :\

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  12. @Bonkers Hongkers Double Decker trams?
    Not buses, trams?!

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  13. i love our trams! i went to sydney recently ... the city is congested due to the absence of trams, and polluted.
    plus, they're uber convenient when a train is canceled or delayed.

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