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Please don't eat on the bus
By Pan Zheng |
March 4, 2010, Thursday
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EVERYBODY eats on the bus. Public transport is filled with the odor of garlic, smelly bean curd, onions, vinegar and other foods. And it's littered. Six bus lines in Hangzhou are urging passengers not to eat on board. Pan Zheng buys a ticket.
A radical experiment in changing public behavior is underway on six major bus lines in Hangzhou where passengers are being urged not to eat anything from barbecue to smelly bean curd on the public transport.
"To maintain a good environment, please do not eat on the bus. Thank you." Starting Monday, that's the announcement repeated all day long on buses No. 4, 16, 38, 106, 555 and 807.
Cartoon posters reinforce the message about not eating and drinking on the bus and not littering. Watermelon seeds are everywhere and sharp barbecue skewers and chopsticks could hurt someone if the driver must brake suddenly.
Not eating is strictly voluntary, and there's no enforcement, however, officials hope the "No Eating on the Bus" campaign will eventually catch on.
If there's some success, the campaign could be expanded to other bus lines.
The pilot project has generated heated debate in a country where eating on buses is as common as eating at home.
The Internet is buzzing.
"Getting passengers not to eat on the bus will certainly be very difficult," says Yang Jiahua, a professor of sociology at the Zhejiang Social Science Research Institute.
The idea of not eating on public transport will not take hold until attitudes change throughout society, he says.
"Over the years eating on the bus is common for many reasons, such as hurrying for work," says Prof Yang. "And in these cases, trying to persuade people not to eat may not seem reasonable in the public eye."
The six bus lines cover important routes to city centers, tourism attractions and transport hubs, according to Weng Jun, assistant manager of the passenger transport department of the Hangzhou Public Transport Group. He described the pilot project in a press conference.
Yin Xiahong, a female bus driver on No. 16, has been at the wheel for 16 years and says her work day is filled with smells, many unpleasant.
"In the morning, people often have breakfast on the bus - bread, fried bread sticks, milk, even noodles. The litter bin is filled in no time and drinks are sometimes spilled on the floor."
After breakfast, there are lunch and dinner. "There are smelly bean curd, lamb barbecue and other food," says Yin. "What I really cannot stand is the pungent smell of vinegar on hot noodles."
Before the campaign began, Yin always discouraged passengers from eating, especially for safety reasons.
"If there's a sudden brake, those sharp barbecue sticks can injure others," she says.
"Eating on the bus will certainly cause unnecessary conflicts and create a lot of cleaning problems," says Weng with the public transport group. "Through this proposal we hope that eventually our passengers won't eat anything on the bus."
Depending on effectiveness of the experiment, the campaign could be expanded, he says.
Before the campaign went into effect, it had already generated debate. Some people considered it a prohibition, others a proposal.
"We're just an enterprise. We certainly have no right to punish our passengers," says an official with the transport group. "All we can do is trying to persuade."
And what if people ignore the persuasion?
"Then there's nothing we can do," says the official, "but we believe after some time and persuasion the situation will change for the better."
Pro:
Gray Girl: Last week I met a girl who was eating a fried cake of leeks on the bus. It might taste good but it smelled very bad. It was very hard for me to tolerate the smell.
Truelife: I strongly oppose eating on the bus, because there is always uncertainty and possibility of sudden turns and braking. You don't know what might happen.
Jiegai86: It's very necessary to prohibit such behavior on the bus. The government should take legislative action to restrict such eating.
Con:
Lily 11: When I lived with my mom, it took me an hour and a half to get to work, so I had to have my breakfast on the bus. Now I live closer to the office, but I understand commuters' difficulties and I don't think it's wrong to eat on the bus.
Sharp: Of course eating should be allowed on the bus, but there should be basic rules. First, the food shouldn't be too smelly. Second, people shouldn't make a lot of noise, like loud chewing. Third, litter must go into the litter bin.
A radical experiment in changing public behavior is underway on six major bus lines in Hangzhou where passengers are being urged not to eat anything from barbecue to smelly bean curd on the public transport.
"To maintain a good environment, please do not eat on the bus. Thank you." Starting Monday, that's the announcement repeated all day long on buses No. 4, 16, 38, 106, 555 and 807.
Cartoon posters reinforce the message about not eating and drinking on the bus and not littering. Watermelon seeds are everywhere and sharp barbecue skewers and chopsticks could hurt someone if the driver must brake suddenly.
Not eating is strictly voluntary, and there's no enforcement, however, officials hope the "No Eating on the Bus" campaign will eventually catch on.
If there's some success, the campaign could be expanded to other bus lines.
The pilot project has generated heated debate in a country where eating on buses is as common as eating at home.
The Internet is buzzing.
"Getting passengers not to eat on the bus will certainly be very difficult," says Yang Jiahua, a professor of sociology at the Zhejiang Social Science Research Institute.
The idea of not eating on public transport will not take hold until attitudes change throughout society, he says.
"Over the years eating on the bus is common for many reasons, such as hurrying for work," says Prof Yang. "And in these cases, trying to persuade people not to eat may not seem reasonable in the public eye."
The six bus lines cover important routes to city centers, tourism attractions and transport hubs, according to Weng Jun, assistant manager of the passenger transport department of the Hangzhou Public Transport Group. He described the pilot project in a press conference.
Yin Xiahong, a female bus driver on No. 16, has been at the wheel for 16 years and says her work day is filled with smells, many unpleasant.
"In the morning, people often have breakfast on the bus - bread, fried bread sticks, milk, even noodles. The litter bin is filled in no time and drinks are sometimes spilled on the floor."
After breakfast, there are lunch and dinner. "There are smelly bean curd, lamb barbecue and other food," says Yin. "What I really cannot stand is the pungent smell of vinegar on hot noodles."
Before the campaign began, Yin always discouraged passengers from eating, especially for safety reasons.
"If there's a sudden brake, those sharp barbecue sticks can injure others," she says.
"Eating on the bus will certainly cause unnecessary conflicts and create a lot of cleaning problems," says Weng with the public transport group. "Through this proposal we hope that eventually our passengers won't eat anything on the bus."
Depending on effectiveness of the experiment, the campaign could be expanded, he says.
Before the campaign went into effect, it had already generated debate. Some people considered it a prohibition, others a proposal.
"We're just an enterprise. We certainly have no right to punish our passengers," says an official with the transport group. "All we can do is trying to persuade."
And what if people ignore the persuasion?
"Then there's nothing we can do," says the official, "but we believe after some time and persuasion the situation will change for the better."
Pro:
Gray Girl: Last week I met a girl who was eating a fried cake of leeks on the bus. It might taste good but it smelled very bad. It was very hard for me to tolerate the smell.
Truelife: I strongly oppose eating on the bus, because there is always uncertainty and possibility of sudden turns and braking. You don't know what might happen.
Jiegai86: It's very necessary to prohibit such behavior on the bus. The government should take legislative action to restrict such eating.
Con:
Lily 11: When I lived with my mom, it took me an hour and a half to get to work, so I had to have my breakfast on the bus. Now I live closer to the office, but I understand commuters' difficulties and I don't think it's wrong to eat on the bus.
Sharp: Of course eating should be allowed on the bus, but there should be basic rules. First, the food shouldn't be too smelly. Second, people shouldn't make a lot of noise, like loud chewing. Third, litter must go into the litter bin.
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