How many people does a train bench fit?
Summer is over and we are now in autumn and soon it will be winter, and commuters will bundled in their thick warm coats.
I was on the “E” train going to work. The “E” train seats are one long grey bench between the train doors. There are seams on both ends of the grey bench. The seams are there to gain access to the train equipment below. The seams are also strategically placed to allow two people to sit on either ends of the bench next to the stainless steel tube meant to keep someone from falling off the side of the bench. The space between the seams on either ends of the bench is enough to fit 3 average sized people.
The description of an average sized person is as follows:
With that said, the grey benches should seat 7 people comfortably with minimal contact with the person next to you.
I’ve seen benches taken up by five people of larger than average size. Some of these people take up a seat and half because these people tend to sit on either ends of benches and I can see their asses are a quarter or a third of the way away from the demarcating seam.
I’ve experienced situations where if there is just an inkling of space between seated passengers and some lady is determined to sit down, she will insist you and everyone else on the bench to smash up against each other so she can sit down even if she can only sit at the edge.
I noticed that people fail to realize that there’s more to a person than just their asses, thighs, and legs. There’s the upper part of the body like arms and shoulders. So even though there seems to be space between commuters on the bench (that’s where the eyes focus on and the body just reels in), it doesn’t mean there is space against the bench back.
I also want to add that the lack of space on a train bench clearly illustrates the severity of the obesity and overweight problem the city is facing.
The seating problem will only get worse as we approach winter with expectations that it will be a cold winter in 2008/2009.
Benches that were suppose to fit 7 average sized adults will be reduced to 5 or 6 adults especially when 1 or 2 of these adults are larger than average plus their coats.
I prefer the “F” train seats because they are clearly defined. Not only that but you can see how much more a fat person takes up on a single seat (and a half).