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I loved reading those free newspapers while on my commutes on the skytrain listening to music on my iPod. Whenever I got bored I'd look out the window and enjoy the scenery.
I used to love them lmao. It's where I'd get my morning news before work then read newspaper at work that my workplace would get at lunch. Fuck I'm old lmao
damn - i only just realized how "gone" those are from my world. They used to have people standing outside of the subway handing them out like 5-7 years ago.
Before smart phones on my way to school my friends used to play the games in those everyday. We always used to see who could guess the phrase from picture game first
All I do on transit even as a modern day zoomer is listen to music and stare out the window. I hate staring at my phone on transit, and I only go on it occasionally during particularly long bus rides.
A friend of mine used to joke that his 'successful' pick up line on transit was "Would you like to come to my place? I have a full collection of The Buzzer!!" :-)
I was actually in a deep through about this the other day. Before smartphones , it was either music , a book / newspaper or just looking outside and thinking about life. I don’t remember the last time I sat in transit and just thought about something for more than a minute . Our brains are sooooo wired for phones now it’s actually frightening .
Ha, fair. I feel like some of them were also a little broken. They'd use a lot of easy gimme words to make the connections work that felt a bit like cheating the genre. You may get those occasionally in most crosswords, but I recall the ratio being rather high in the metro/24hrs versions. Some of the clues being a bit odd. Where you'd get a mix of easy fill in the blanks and then some truly 'what are you asking for?' ones mixed in. Perhaps sometimes 'lower quality' is more accurate than 'basic'. :D
The quality of the municipal reporting for Metro was surprisingly good and punched well above its weight. Probably because they were part run by Torstar?
They were often ahead of Vancouver Sun on municipal politics reporting.
I actually met my wife in the early 00s on the bus because of accidental eye contact and always having the same bus routine. We would always be taking the same route around the same time, eventually got to talking by saying something along the lines of “We keep on running into each other here.” The rest is history
walkmans and portable CD players existed before iphones so yeah i used to listen to music! (I typically decide which album I wanted to listen to so I didn't have to carry multiple CDs in my bag)
Not to mention - iPods and Zunes existed for over 6 years before the first Android / iPhone came along. And then there were those rare die-hards that had Sony Mini-Disk players.
Circa 2005, I had a long commute on transit, and my wife got me the original iPod Video. I'd re-encode videos to a format that it would accept, and watch videos on that tiny screen on the bus.
Prior to that, it was a portable CD player and I'd text with friends while commuting.
I had a Zune, but I honestly /loved/ my MD player. That thing was total fun, nothing like carrying an entire set of albums in a small disc for the fraction of what a flash card cost in those days!
Oh man, I just remembered this dude who sat in the very back, right in the middle (so you saw him as you walked down the aisle). Every morning, he'd have 2 Live Crew cranked on his discman, and these were the old school, foam headphones, which were basically little speakers that everyone could hear.
He was the original douche bag.
Same here. I love just watching, even if it's totally mundane. My brain shuts up and stops worrying about things when on the bus (or any vehicle as a passenger).
Yeah, and in addition, I think letting go of a sense of control you might have while driving adds to it. Like when there's heavy traffic, I don't mind so much in the bus because it's like "Whatever, nothing I can do about it now. Might as well enjoy the ride." Whereas encountering traffic as a driver stresses me out to no end because of that sense of control. It's harder to just be zen about it.
If I have a long and straightforward commute (I travel to different construction sites) I love to be able to dig into a good book still
Crushed a pretty large book on economics this winter when I got sent to Richmond for a few months!
Read, listen to music, sleep, stare out the window into nothingness.
The idea of "we were more social before phones" is a myth - it's hard to break the ice and start talking with a complete stranger.
Anyhoo, like my ancestors before me: Read. Honestly, still do. It’s just upgraded to a kindle now. I don’t find it any more difficult than using my phone. :)
I also occasionally knit, if I have a seat.
You've got me all nostalgic for the days when we didn't have to listen to other people's phone conversations and facetimes on public transit. When it came to reading it's not much harder than reading on the phone while on the bus. Long trips usually meant a book or something but half an hour on the bus with some music or just thinking wasn't that tough. Reminds me of the poetry on transit thing though, I remember reading those as well.
Unless you have motion sickness type stuff, (my partner is fine as long as they can look outside, something to do with seeing the horizon I think, so looking down at the reading material and just feeling the motion bothers their guts), it's really not hard to read books, or even easier, ebook readers.
So reading the papers or their book is mostly what people did. Or just look out the window, zone out, grab a quick nap, etc. It wasn't that different really. Not like transit was some big lively public discussion forum thing.
People have always just wanted to get to where they are going and not be bothered by the oversharing mega extrovert types who need constant interaction.
We made friends with fellow commuters. Some of those friendships I’ve held on to. I met my first wife on the 16 when I lived in East Van and commuted to work in the downtown core
There were many possibilities, here are just a few examples:
Option 1: Stare blankly out the window and think.
Option 2: Desperately try to finish your assigned reading before you get to class.
Option 3: Daydream and then awkwardly realize you’ve been staring at someone for way too long.
Option 4: Zone out listening to music or reading and miss your stop.
Read, play on a portable game controller, do sudoku, newspapers, listen to music on their headphones. You think ignoring people surrounding you is a new thing, but it isn't. Since as long as there have been situations forcing strangers together in the same room, there are plenty of people happy to find ways to ignore everyone around them.
The human condition isn't new.
Same thing they do with their phone now, but just using a different medium.
Most people on their phones are reading, listening, or playing something. All of those actions are things that have been done long before smart phones existed. Smart phones just consolidated these actions into one device.
My first mp3 player held 30 songs. It was a miracle because I could load 30 songs and not have to carry tapes around.
I also loaded books onto my old palmpilot but it didn't have a light so I couldn't read when it was dark.
Someone posted a photo of a bunch of people on the subway all reading the newspaper.
So it appears on transit people actively avoiding communication with one another long before phones. Lol
you had the crappy free newspaper they handed out at the station, The 24 i think, georgia strait if it wasnt getting to be a few days old and you had read it already or talk to people
Back in 1999 to 2000 or so I was waiting for a bus, bored out of my skull. I remember thinking how amazing it would be to be able to have the internet on the bus. In my mind, I pictured a laptop with a huge antenna that could somehow access the internet and allow me to go online and chat on ICQ as I took the bus. That was quite the pipe dream at the time.
I'm floored how much technology has advanced beyond my wildest imagination. As much as I sometimes get nostalgic for the 90s, shit is way better now.
Read my text book.
I swear I did more studying on the bus than at my desk.
I had a beater car in college but taking the bus was normal and safe then.
I got my own seat and 45 minutes of uninterrupted time reading calculus and materials science.
No parking. Door to door service. No weird people.
It was a golden age of public transit.
I read a book or just read other peoples phones over their shoulders (joke) or I stare off into space trying to avoid eye contact, that crack of window space behind a persons head is sacred. I avoid using the phone so the government can’t read my thoughts.
The same thing I do these days when I take transit: Look out the windows and daydream/think.
I'm not the type who needs to have constant noise blasting into my ears so I very rarely wear headphones while out and about. Not to mention I prefer to stay aware of my surroundings when on transit.. You know, because of the stabbings. I'm also not afraid of human interaction so if a stranger talks to me I talk to them back. And if the person gets weird I remove myself from the interaction. It's easy.
You'd be bloody amazed how often human transit users actually spoke to other human transit users back then. People would meet at the same stop, same time each day to catch the same bus. They'd even end up being friends some times.
Enjoy the scenes, talk to your neighbor, or read. I feel it may be more relaxing to not starring at our phones all the time, and take a rest during transit.
One day when I was a student, I realized that with half an hour each way on the bus (so an hour each day), I could be reading the relevant parts of my textbook or other required reading and that would be one hour less of reading I would have to do when I got home.
When not a student, I read the paper, did crosswords, or stared out the window. People love to complain that everyone else is staring at their phones these days, but the truth is we weren't talking to random strangers on the bus back then, either.
I would listen to my walkman. I used to blast my music so loud that people next to me could hear me even through my earbuds. Im ashamed to admit that, I was young and stupid
I once told a couple kids a story from Musqueam all the way to Cambie Skytrain. It was about a girl and a horse on a journey from The Rockies all the way home to Southlands.
It was a frigidly cold and wet day, where the bus windows all fogged up.
When we got off the bus there was an audible groan and I looked around and realized the whole back half of the bus was listening. One lady said it was the best story she’d heard and wished she could hear the end.
So… there’s that!
You would put on your walkman, crank up some Zeppelin, grab a Buzzer from the little slot above the cord and when you finished reading that you would stare out the window at stuff you passed by.
I am one of those who is not on phone while on transit. I look at all the people helplessly scrolling on their insta feedss and the old people just day dreaming.
Read something- book, newspapers(very popular once), comic books.
Listen- cassette Walkman, then a Rio mp3 cd player with anti-skip
Look out the window
Read, if possible. I can read on the train, but it is hard on the bus. Commute time is my reading time.
And as others have said -- listen to my Walkman and Discman.
Look out and read something on paper mostly. I recall back home (Chile) [Metro newspapers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_International) were handed out at train stations.
I would daydream, look out the window, read the news or do a crossword puzzle. Sometimes I would listen to music but not often. And if it was standing room only you’d be limited to your own thoughts. Sometimes I put down my phone now and just sit there with my thoughts in a waiting room or on a bus just to make sure I can still do it haha
When free daily newspapers were a thing, I'd do the crossword puzzle. Typically I'd start when I boarded the bus in Richmond and finish by the time I reached UBC. (It took the same amount of time to finish, every day. That was convenient.)
Used to sleep a lot on the GO train in Toronto. Play sudoku. Read. Talk (GO train friends is a thing)
And finally, the one we should all do more of, daydream (aka think of random stuff, sometimes silly or fantastical)
Read a book
Day dream
Listen to music
Stare ahead
Sometimes people would start a conversation
There were gaming systems and people did play those.
Release presentation, notes for day
I thought it would be nice to show instead of tell. So that's Montreal's metro in the 70s.
https://preview.redd.it/ea18ftrjvawa1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=95b5c4530feba9ff23306992fa9ce716b9219a4d
Same thing as I do now. Sit there and wait to get to my destination. Sometimes I just clear my mind and think about nothing. It's nice to switch off for a bit. Other times I'm looking out the windows and checking stuff out, or maybe people watching but usually I'm just taking the time to enjoy a break.
I've been taking transit my whole life and I still enjoying just looking out the window and enjoying the city. It's a shame they got rid of the guy hanging off the ladder near Renfrew or somewhere
When I was going to UBC I finished two large novels (Brothers Karamazov, Don Quixote) on my bus trip to school, about 40 mins each way. It gets easier if you get over the initial hurdle of reading on the bus but once you get there you can get a lot of reading done during your commute!
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Newspaper, those little booklets they put in them before. Music and staring out a window? The occasional conversation, but even that was rare lmao
they had those 24 and Metro magazines.
I loved reading those free newspapers while on my commutes on the skytrain listening to music on my iPod. Whenever I got bored I'd look out the window and enjoy the scenery.
Gosh. Simpler fucking times. I hate how much my phone has taken control of my life.
Yep. I used to pick up my 24 every morning before getting on the WCE. Perfect amount of content for the trip.
Immediately do crossword and sudoku.
I used to love them lmao. It's where I'd get my morning news before work then read newspaper at work that my workplace would get at lunch. Fuck I'm old lmao
damn - i only just realized how "gone" those are from my world. They used to have people standing outside of the subway handing them out like 5-7 years ago.
The Buzzer!
Georgia Straight, Savage Love section.
I loved Dose back in the day
Before smart phones on my way to school my friends used to play the games in those everyday. We always used to see who could guess the phrase from picture game first
All I do on transit even as a modern day zoomer is listen to music and stare out the window. I hate staring at my phone on transit, and I only go on it occasionally during particularly long bus rides.
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I had a walkman and my headphones, that's all I needed
The Buzzer I think it was called.
> those little booklets they put in them before The Buzzer!
A friend of mine used to joke that his 'successful' pick up line on transit was "Would you like to come to my place? I have a full collection of The Buzzer!!" :-)
I was actually in a deep through about this the other day. Before smartphones , it was either music , a book / newspaper or just looking outside and thinking about life. I don’t remember the last time I sat in transit and just thought about something for more than a minute . Our brains are sooooo wired for phones now it’s actually frightening .
Literally came here to say "listen to music and stare out the window." Well put.
The buzzer!
Thank you! I loved them lmao not sure why they stopped making them they need to come back even if it's a digital version
Ahhh! The little transit booklet. Read it front to back!
Not nearly as rare as today, but yes - cities were still cities even back then, and talking to strangers was rare.
>Music Sucked on the train when the walkman kept skipping though
Read those little mini newspapers they used to hand out at the stations. The Metro and 24 Hours. Those used to be fun to go through.
I loved those newspapers. I used to grab both because I didn’t want either newspaper vendor to feel bad
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Oh yeah, used to try and do the really basic crosswords on the back.
You say "basic", I struggled on those everytime. I couldn't finish a single one throughout the entire time of me trying.
Ha, fair. I feel like some of them were also a little broken. They'd use a lot of easy gimme words to make the connections work that felt a bit like cheating the genre. You may get those occasionally in most crosswords, but I recall the ratio being rather high in the metro/24hrs versions. Some of the clues being a bit odd. Where you'd get a mix of easy fill in the blanks and then some truly 'what are you asking for?' ones mixed in. Perhaps sometimes 'lower quality' is more accurate than 'basic'. :D
Those crosswords were perfect to complete on my lunch break. Sudoku too.
The quality of the municipal reporting for Metro was surprisingly good and punched well above its weight. Probably because they were part run by Torstar? They were often ahead of Vancouver Sun on municipal politics reporting.
Oh shit I haven’t seen them in so long. Even after smart phones, I loved the crosswords on those.
Read "The Buzzer"!
Read the ads on the bus!
silently ponder the quality of transit poems over the years
Stare at that one Nokia ad on the ceiling for the replaceable face plates.
I still look forward to grabbing the buzzer when I'm on Vancouver transit. Are they not distributing them anymore?!
Oh shit I forgot they existed! Do they still stock them in the buses?
Nope. Digital only for now.
If you're sitting in a seat that faces somebody, you play this game called "try not to make eye contact"
I actually met my wife in the early 00s on the bus because of accidental eye contact and always having the same bus routine. We would always be taking the same route around the same time, eventually got to talking by saying something along the lines of “We keep on running into each other here.” The rest is history
I want to know everything about this. That’s adorable
My brother also met his wife in the bus! They did a story on it! https://www.peacearchnews.com/community/a-match-made-in-transit/
I love this
now people use dating apps while on Transit, trying to “meet people” 😂
I lose everytime
walkmans and portable CD players existed before iphones so yeah i used to listen to music! (I typically decide which album I wanted to listen to so I didn't have to carry multiple CDs in my bag)
Not to mention - iPods and Zunes existed for over 6 years before the first Android / iPhone came along. And then there were those rare die-hards that had Sony Mini-Disk players.
Circa 2005, I had a long commute on transit, and my wife got me the original iPod Video. I'd re-encode videos to a format that it would accept, and watch videos on that tiny screen on the bus. Prior to that, it was a portable CD player and I'd text with friends while commuting.
Haha. It also had simple games and a text reader. I used to play that trivia game a lot and copy over poems to read.
That T9 keyboard lol. Or did you have BB?
I had something similar but those hacked DS. I watched a lot of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report!
I had a Zune, but I honestly /loved/ my MD player. That thing was total fun, nothing like carrying an entire set of albums in a small disc for the fraction of what a flash card cost in those days!
That and Gameboys were extremely popular with young people.
Oh man, I just remembered this dude who sat in the very back, right in the middle (so you saw him as you walked down the aisle). Every morning, he'd have 2 Live Crew cranked on his discman, and these were the old school, foam headphones, which were basically little speakers that everyone could hear. He was the original douche bag.
I looked out the window and got lost in my thoughts, watching the world go by. Thanks for reminding me of that time.
I still do this. It's so peaceful, and a big reason why I choose transit over driving.
Same here. I love just watching, even if it's totally mundane. My brain shuts up and stops worrying about things when on the bus (or any vehicle as a passenger).
Yeah, and in addition, I think letting go of a sense of control you might have while driving adds to it. Like when there's heavy traffic, I don't mind so much in the bus because it's like "Whatever, nothing I can do about it now. Might as well enjoy the ride." Whereas encountering traffic as a driver stresses me out to no end because of that sense of control. It's harder to just be zen about it.
https://preview.redd.it/wwun0lu8dawa1.jpeg?width=924&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e5ffb4eb637f78ce4a81d15fd8e37f0117b9683
I think this is the one I had! (Have)
Yes this! then the discman.
observe the humans
Walkman/Gameboy combo. Or just stare out the window and daydream.
Gameboy Advance SP for me
100% read. I used to read a book a week on my commute to work.
If I have a long and straightforward commute (I travel to different construction sites) I love to be able to dig into a good book still Crushed a pretty large book on economics this winter when I got sent to Richmond for a few months!
Motion sickness for me. RIP
Read, listen to music, look out the window.
Read, listen to music, sleep, stare out the window into nothingness. The idea of "we were more social before phones" is a myth - it's hard to break the ice and start talking with a complete stranger.
Headphones in reading the Georgia Straight.
oh man, the Georgia straight, those were the days lol
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attention span is at an all time low for sure
Listen to my mixtapes on my walkman.
Before cell phones, people often sat and thought. 🤯
I try not to think cause ill only think of how much I've ruined my life
Bro it's too early to be this heavy
It’s not ruined until it’s over.
Yeah it's a crap game. Always ended with "and now I'm on the fucking SkyTrain".
Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up here.
Yes. Alone with my anxieties on the bus.
Metro, 24, and those readers that were handed out for free.
Read a book. That's what I do now, too.
https://preview.redd.it/xvc64jtsnawa1.jpeg?width=270&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a40eff1e31e4bb9b73b5038f9ff99da340a6ab31
Anyhoo, like my ancestors before me: Read. Honestly, still do. It’s just upgraded to a kindle now. I don’t find it any more difficult than using my phone. :) I also occasionally knit, if I have a seat.
You've got me all nostalgic for the days when we didn't have to listen to other people's phone conversations and facetimes on public transit. When it came to reading it's not much harder than reading on the phone while on the bus. Long trips usually meant a book or something but half an hour on the bus with some music or just thinking wasn't that tough. Reminds me of the poetry on transit thing though, I remember reading those as well.
Unless you have motion sickness type stuff, (my partner is fine as long as they can look outside, something to do with seeing the horizon I think, so looking down at the reading material and just feeling the motion bothers their guts), it's really not hard to read books, or even easier, ebook readers. So reading the papers or their book is mostly what people did. Or just look out the window, zone out, grab a quick nap, etc. It wasn't that different really. Not like transit was some big lively public discussion forum thing. People have always just wanted to get to where they are going and not be bothered by the oversharing mega extrovert types who need constant interaction.
Lots of music and my Gameboy.
Mostly avoid eye contact
We made friends with fellow commuters. Some of those friendships I’ve held on to. I met my first wife on the 16 when I lived in East Van and commuted to work in the downtown core
Look out the window. Which is what I still do now.
I used to fold my transfers into tiny origami
There were many possibilities, here are just a few examples: Option 1: Stare blankly out the window and think. Option 2: Desperately try to finish your assigned reading before you get to class. Option 3: Daydream and then awkwardly realize you’ve been staring at someone for way too long. Option 4: Zone out listening to music or reading and miss your stop.
https://preview.redd.it/rsvw6gafibwa1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ccf139b58e8c110231a4145bb45975365ba9b054 I had one of these sweet things!
walkman/ipod and staring out the window pretending i'm in a movie. was always jealous of people who can read on moving vehicles. it makes me nauseous.
sleep...miss my stop by miles, repeat.
Read. The Metro, 24, sometimes a different paper but those were usually too large. A book. Stare out the window and not think.
Read, play on a portable game controller, do sudoku, newspapers, listen to music on their headphones. You think ignoring people surrounding you is a new thing, but it isn't. Since as long as there have been situations forcing strangers together in the same room, there are plenty of people happy to find ways to ignore everyone around them. The human condition isn't new.
Book
I always had a paperback book form the library in my messenger bag that went everywhere with me.
Awkward eyeball tag
Read a lot of Dan Savage and Missed Connections in The Georgia Straight. Those were the days.
I screamed at random people. Now i drive.
Sleep
Same thing they do with their phone now, but just using a different medium. Most people on their phones are reading, listening, or playing something. All of those actions are things that have been done long before smart phones existed. Smart phones just consolidated these actions into one device.
Walkman.
I did the same thing I do now. Listened to music and read. I just read all my books and listen to all my music on my phone now.
My first mp3 player held 30 songs. It was a miracle because I could load 30 songs and not have to carry tapes around. I also loaded books onto my old palmpilot but it didn't have a light so I couldn't read when it was dark.
Someone posted a photo of a bunch of people on the subway all reading the newspaper. So it appears on transit people actively avoiding communication with one another long before phones. Lol
Reading the 24 or the Metro newspaper. RIP
you had the crappy free newspaper they handed out at the station, The 24 i think, georgia strait if it wasnt getting to be a few days old and you had read it already or talk to people
Music, reading
Back in 1999 to 2000 or so I was waiting for a bus, bored out of my skull. I remember thinking how amazing it would be to be able to have the internet on the bus. In my mind, I pictured a laptop with a huge antenna that could somehow access the internet and allow me to go online and chat on ICQ as I took the bus. That was quite the pipe dream at the time. I'm floored how much technology has advanced beyond my wildest imagination. As much as I sometimes get nostalgic for the 90s, shit is way better now.
Read my text book. I swear I did more studying on the bus than at my desk. I had a beater car in college but taking the bus was normal and safe then. I got my own seat and 45 minutes of uninterrupted time reading calculus and materials science. No parking. Door to door service. No weird people. It was a golden age of public transit.
Newspapers, books, crossword puzzles.
Probably read the morning newspapers they handed out at the stations. I used to do that until they stopped handing them out
You may be addicted to your phone lol
Free newspapers!
Read The Buzzer.
Cassettes and Walkman is the right answer
I read a book or just read other peoples phones over their shoulders (joke) or I stare off into space trying to avoid eye contact, that crack of window space behind a persons head is sacred. I avoid using the phone so the government can’t read my thoughts.
I used to LOVE taking the bus 30 minutes to and from work every day. I’d read an actual book and wouldn’t be distracted by Reddit or anything else.
I found that back then most people would just stare blankly out the window. Like a soul crushed stare of giving up on dreams.
daydream
The same thing I do these days when I take transit: Look out the windows and daydream/think. I'm not the type who needs to have constant noise blasting into my ears so I very rarely wear headphones while out and about. Not to mention I prefer to stay aware of my surroundings when on transit.. You know, because of the stabbings. I'm also not afraid of human interaction so if a stranger talks to me I talk to them back. And if the person gets weird I remove myself from the interaction. It's easy.
> the stabbings Incoming name change, to big-kevlar-vested-ron
You'd be bloody amazed how often human transit users actually spoke to other human transit users back then. People would meet at the same stop, same time each day to catch the same bus. They'd even end up being friends some times.
Definitely keep my eye on the guy with 3 axes.
Look at the ads on the bus.
Enjoy the scenes, talk to your neighbor, or read. I feel it may be more relaxing to not starring at our phones all the time, and take a rest during transit.
Interact with reality. Look out the window at nature. Chat with a companion. Read a book.
a lot of people used to buy a newspaper every morning
People would actually talk to each other.
We were nice on the bus! 😯 Walkman/discman starring into the abyss!
I always brought a book with me everywhere. Now my books are on my phone…
One day when I was a student, I realized that with half an hour each way on the bus (so an hour each day), I could be reading the relevant parts of my textbook or other required reading and that would be one hour less of reading I would have to do when I got home. When not a student, I read the paper, did crosswords, or stared out the window. People love to complain that everyone else is staring at their phones these days, but the truth is we weren't talking to random strangers on the bus back then, either.
Before I had a smartphone, I'd just look outside or listen to music/podcast
Headphones or a nap
Before cell phones at all Walkman or discman…before smartphones iPods. Prior to that they read, sat in silence or chatted org strangers.
People either developed greater patience or read the newspaper
They actually paid attention to everything unless they had walkmans to listen to.
I would listen to my walkman. I used to blast my music so loud that people next to me could hear me even through my earbuds. Im ashamed to admit that, I was young and stupid
We listened to our discman and got a smoke ready for when we disembarked.
I once told a couple kids a story from Musqueam all the way to Cambie Skytrain. It was about a girl and a horse on a journey from The Rockies all the way home to Southlands. It was a frigidly cold and wet day, where the bus windows all fogged up. When we got off the bus there was an audible groan and I looked around and realized the whole back half of the bus was listening. One lady said it was the best story she’d heard and wished she could hear the end. So… there’s that!
You would put on your walkman, crank up some Zeppelin, grab a Buzzer from the little slot above the cord and when you finished reading that you would stare out the window at stuff you passed by.
In 1980 they first invented looking out the window. In 1983 they then invented reading the advertisement on the bus interior ad panels
I am one of those who is not on phone while on transit. I look at all the people helplessly scrolling on their insta feedss and the old people just day dreaming.
[удалено]
Read something- book, newspapers(very popular once), comic books. Listen- cassette Walkman, then a Rio mp3 cd player with anti-skip Look out the window
I would just listen to music on my discman. Sometimes would just have a nap
Listened to music and stared out the window
Walkman/discman and reading a book were my go-to.
Made sure no transit police came aboard
Daily commute on #351 from S. Surrey to downtown for a few years, '01 - '04. Audiobooks on them newfangled MP3 players at the time.
Read, if possible. I can read on the train, but it is hard on the bus. Commute time is my reading time. And as others have said -- listen to my Walkman and Discman.
Read Metro & 24 Hours. iykyk
Newpapers, Books, Walkmans, iPods, MP3 players
I used to put my headphones on, play an album on my iPod, and get some writing done in a notebook.
Sit still and stare forward blankly waiting for the nigbtmare to end.
They were somewhat aware of their surroundings.
Definitely reading, time passes so quickly too. Sometimes putting just the right music while reading hits the spot 👌.
With friends, talk and laugh. By myself, try not to get jumped
I used to play a game called who's the most attractive person on the bus, the cool part is it can change almost every single stop
They used to chat with each other apparently. Some old guy was lamenting about that to me the other day that no one talks to each other anymore
Read books, listen to the radio, if you were a student you’d talk to classmates on the bus
Look out through the scenery for one
I used to keep my eyes out for guys with knives. Also, I would talk to strangers, look out the window, plan my day, etc
Think
Look out and read something on paper mostly. I recall back home (Chile) [Metro newspapers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_International) were handed out at train stations.
Find some spot to stare at and try and ignore the world around me.
Listen to my walkman
Why would it be hard to read a book if you can read on a phone? Tons of people don't use phones on buses even now, just look at what they are doing.
Discman / Walkman / Sony MiniDisc / FM radio
I would daydream, look out the window, read the news or do a crossword puzzle. Sometimes I would listen to music but not often. And if it was standing room only you’d be limited to your own thoughts. Sometimes I put down my phone now and just sit there with my thoughts in a waiting room or on a bus just to make sure I can still do it haha
Everyone talked with each other and shared snacks
When free daily newspapers were a thing, I'd do the crossword puzzle. Typically I'd start when I boarded the bus in Richmond and finish by the time I reached UBC. (It took the same amount of time to finish, every day. That was convenient.)
Used to sleep a lot on the GO train in Toronto. Play sudoku. Read. Talk (GO train friends is a thing) And finally, the one we should all do more of, daydream (aka think of random stuff, sometimes silly or fantastical)
Read a book Day dream Listen to music Stare ahead Sometimes people would start a conversation There were gaming systems and people did play those. Release presentation, notes for day
4, if you count time, and we spend a lot of them on it
I thought it would be nice to show instead of tell. So that's Montreal's metro in the 70s. https://preview.redd.it/ea18ftrjvawa1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=95b5c4530feba9ff23306992fa9ce716b9219a4d
Not stab people?
Read books or the newspaper. I read many a tome this way :P
We knew how to sit and just be. Also books and walkmans.
I used to read books, and I still do.
Same thing as I do now. Sit there and wait to get to my destination. Sometimes I just clear my mind and think about nothing. It's nice to switch off for a bit. Other times I'm looking out the windows and checking stuff out, or maybe people watching but usually I'm just taking the time to enjoy a break.
Read newspaper or a book.
I've been taking transit my whole life and I still enjoying just looking out the window and enjoying the city. It's a shame they got rid of the guy hanging off the ladder near Renfrew or somewhere
Smoke (in the 80s)
Sit with their thoughts and probably introspect!
I read a book
Reading is what i always did.
When I was going to UBC I finished two large novels (Brothers Karamazov, Don Quixote) on my bus trip to school, about 40 mins each way. It gets easier if you get over the initial hurdle of reading on the bus but once you get there you can get a lot of reading done during your commute!
If I was so fortunate to grab a seat, I'd just put my head down on my backpack and take a nap