Commuting demography

“Commuting demography” is a brand-new branch of observatory philosophical science. I just made it up.

I just noticed that the kind of people riding the regional trains are very different from those that I see in the subway. My subjective classification is that the regional commuters are nicer folks. They know how to behave and respect other commuters. They know they are not alone on the train. They let people get off the train before entering. They don’t have their iPods turned up to the max and they dress like they actually have taste and decency. They make an effort to keep their pets to themselves, and these are the people who take off their shoes before they put their feet up on the seat opposite.

To classify subway commuters, just take the inverse of the above. This appears to be true for all age groups.

It’s not hard to guess now which demographic segment I prefer. This is certainly one factor that helps on the longer commute I have now. In fact I get off the subway earlier (on my way home) than I used to, so I am less bothered by the subway people and enjoy the nice environment in the regional trains all the more. It makes the commute seem shorter than it is.