Traveling sometimes feels like a necessary evil to get from Point A to Point B. Whether you’re sitting through a long flight or just riding the train to work, Genfare, a fare management company, wanted to see what Americans view as the most annoying travel habits out there.
When flying, comfort is what most travelers desperately desire. In a survey of 2,000 Americans who fly at least two times each year, only three out of four passengers say they’re able to fall asleep. And of that, roughly one-third require assistance from either alcohol or sleeping pills.
A surprising 64-percent of respondents believe it’s okay to take their shoes off during a flight, and 20-percent it’s okay to take it a step further and remove their socks.
But regardless of what steps individual passengers take to get comfortable, it’s nearly impossible to control the behavior of other passengers. Coming in as the number one annoyance on planes, with 54-percent of the vote, is having your seat kicked. Following behind that, are crying children and babies on planes, smelly passengers, and talkative seatmates.
On public transportation, the top annoyance are fellow passengers who talk loudly on their phones. In cramped spaces and often uncomfortable situations, many passengers just want some peace and quiet. The second ranking annoying on public transit are fellow passengers with bad body odor, those who listen to their music without any headphones on, and people taking up precious sitting space with their bags.
When it comes to ride-sharing, just under half of respondents (44-percent) said they can’t stand it when their driver is aggressive behind the wheel. Following aggressive driving is having a driver talking on the phone and taking personal phone calls as the second most-annoying behavior, which 32-percent of respondents say they can’t stand. The third place annoyance is travelling in a dirty or messy car, followed by dramatic and sudden breaking and acceleration, overly chatty rideshare drivers, and drivers playing bad music.
No matter the mode of transportation, passengers will always find a reason to gripe. But if everyone takes time to register these bad habits, it could make the ride more enjoyable for all.
