A to B

"Public transport, have you smelt these people?...We believe in human energy but profit from human laziness, what are you going to do..walk?" - just heard this on the radio parodying petrol companies values.

So Let's review the 'sensible' options:
Walking- weather and considerable distances sadly put me off.

Cycling- It's dangerous as cars and buses don't respect personal space or the cycle lanes.

Buses and Trains-both save time and headaches from traffic but is boring if you are ill-prepared.
They used to have advertising on the ceiling and on the wall but that has all but vanished.
I didn't really care about tyre repairs or bus fares but it is something to kill time. If that fails or there is nothing about, I look at the scenery then the passengers.

Sights- unless you are a tourist, you'll know the route back to front so that becomes tiresome.

Passengers: You are relatively safe in the bus as they are not usually facing you.
You can:
-analyse the drivers ornaments or decorations.
-look at people's clothes, hair and/or what they are reading.
-if a pushchair plus mum get on, then there is some manoeuvring and bus lowering.

Even if I bring something to occupy myself, boredom is not my sole enemy.

I try and sit on the aisle seat so I can have a whole seat to myself. People go for the empty aisle seat first.
In the latest Sunday magazine, bad bus etiquette was on the down list. Commenting on how your bag doesn't need a window seat. I disagree completely.

Even though I sympathise with later passengers, they don't look beyond the obvious and search for a seat, that means lots of standing.

On the train, I used to catch the limited stops service so often fell asleep and woke just before my stop.
If that is not possible, the scenery is going past fast so stalker staring begins.

It requires some skill of averting your eyes when caught staring. Unfortunately your gaze naturally goes back to the same person at the other end of the carriage regularly so you can get stung over and over.
Suddenly your shoes are super interesting.
Sharing a seat is also inevitable as train users are particularly vigilant.
Both buses and train users though seem to have a common sharing habit of seeking out the same gender or age group, if necessary.

Public transport may involve chatting with strangers, but as always I hope for simple weather comments and not long involved conversation. I'm trying to relax!

I'll try and learn my lesson and bring a good book or schedule a brainstorm session for my next trip but I can't promise anything.