The most annoying things passengers do on transport

Close up of a businessman listening to music while riding in a bus

Attention transport users! YouGov’s latest research reveals which traits people find to be the most annoying when using public transport.

Read on to find out if you’re guilty of irritating your fellow travellers.

Taking public transport can be a mixed experience. Whilst it can often be a cheaper, faster or more convenient means to reach your destination, you can never fully plan for what you will find on your journey.

YouGov, asked over 9000 public transport users in Asia Pacific what they hoped to avoid on their journey.

Coughing or sneezing without covering your mouth is a big no-no

The three most annoying traits in fellow travellers were seen to be; passengers sneezing or coughing without covering their mouth (cited by 52 per cent of those polled), poor personal hygiene (51 per cent) and putting feet on the seats (38 per cent).

Older travelers are more likely to be annoyed by passengers talking loudly on their phones – 42 per cent of those aged 55+ cited this as one of their top three most irritating experiences while, just 33 per cent of 16-24 year olds felt the same way.

Thais are the least concerned by personal hygiene

There are also some regional variations in what annoys public transport users. Those in the Philippines are most concerned with poor personal hygiene (69 per cent), whereas Thais are the least concerned (35 per cent).

Using bad language is a particular problem in Vietnam, where the number of those annoyed by bad language (47 per cent) is almost double the regional average (25 per cent).

Residents of Hong Kong are nearly twice as likely to be annoyed by hearing loud music coming from fellow travellers’ mobiles than others; 21 per cent find it annoying, compared to 11 per cent regionally.

Etiquette in Australia 

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You can suss out other locations and their pet peeves here.

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