Tuesday, January 29, 2008

tramspotting

some thoughts on the trams:

1. i really want to steal one of the routemaps. they put up new ones at the turn of the year and they are sweet. i have an affinity for maps. they are something i collect from places i go instead of souvenirs or postcards or what have you. however, i'm getting bored with the typical mass-produced city plans that you find most often. the new tram maps include not only the metro lines but all the tram and bus routes, and in full technicolor no less! debs and i decided the primetime to steal would be sunday afternoon. the night tram, ostensibly the best option for theft, is actually bad because it's usually crammed full of people. (crammed tram. ha.) i was inspecting the signs today and they seem as though they could be easily slid from behind their protective plastic display. i want one before i leave.

(setting goals is important.)

2. the hierarchy of tram seating is really getting on my nerves. back in america, where things make sense, the young give up their seats for the old and men usually give up their seats for women. that's not how it works in prague! countless times have i been pushed aside by a young, able-bodied gentleman in a race for the last empty seat.

here's how i think it should go. if there's one seat left, it should go in this order:
a. old woman with a cane
b. old man with a cane
c. old woman, clearly no longer at physical peak but lacking cane
d. old man, ditto
e. pregnant woman
f. person from age of young-adult to middle-age with a minor injury, ie a broken leg requiring the use of crutches
g. anyone holding more than a half-full bag of groceries
h. mother with young child
i. couple sharing a seat

aside:
i once had a cursory dicussion as part of a "couple sharing a seat" about this hierarchy.

"let's do the couple sharing a seat. that way we don't have to get up."
"who do we supercede?"
"um, i think single men."

however, i think that since the couples are exercising efficiency by taking up only one seat instead of two, they should be rewarded and be allowed to supercede any single rider.

j. able-bodied woman
k. any child
l. able-bodied man

men have much less regard for chivalry here, i've noticed. i know a lot of women are feminists nowadays and insist that chivalry is actually condescending, but i disagree. after centuries of patriarchal society, i think you can manage to open a door for us. or give up your seat. i don't think it's an unreasonable exhange.

3. they should invent a tram route that goes through the tunnel from karlin to zizkov. it would make my life 100% easier.


....and then i found $5. sorry, i'm bored and i've got nothing.

2 comments:

Lele said...

a) Did you find $5 or 100Kč?
b) You have really thought out this hierarchy but left out one major group of tram riders...the homeless, smelly drunk men. Don't they fit in there somewhere?

Jen said...

YOU'RE RIGHT. what was a i thinking. homeless smelly drunk men supercede all.