Copenhagen cool
September 13, 2012 3:21 PM   Subscribe

 
Public transportation is supposed to be boring, or at the very least not exciting. If I get home at the end of the day and I have a story about something that happened on public transit, it's more than likely something I wish hadn't happened.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:25 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Det er cool.
posted by LMGM at 3:40 PM on September 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


If you want an exciting public transit experience, Boston's MBTA now offers the chance to be entertained by a creepy mascot.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 3:42 PM on September 13, 2012


In that Danish one, the people stranded out in the middle of nowhere cheering when the bus finally comes? Been there. With the people crawling over each other to get on? Yeah, that's what the fight for the 3 slots in the bike rack is like on my bus commute. And cutting donuts? I think I've ridden with that driver. When I was trying to get work done on the laptop.

Cute, but cuts a little too close to reality to actually make me want to ride the bus more.
posted by straw at 3:45 PM on September 13, 2012 [5 favorites]


Danish public transport may have a lot going for it but you can't beat the six-fingered door handles of Finnish trains.
posted by Anything at 3:50 PM on September 13, 2012 [10 favorites]


Danish public transport may have a lot going for it but you can't beat the six-fingered door handles of Finnish trains.
posted by Anything at 6:50 PM on September 13 [+] [!]


Finns are very considerate. They're just keeping tourists from this place in mind.
posted by dazed_one at 3:55 PM on September 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


I can only imagine the public outrage if our local transit system started airing expensive animated commercials. Plus, they don't actually any more people to take the bus, they can't handle the load they have now.
posted by octothorpe at 4:21 PM on September 13, 2012


Watch out or you might end up sharing your train with dancing granite statues, let alone six fingered freaks.
posted by Talkie Toaster at 4:25 PM on September 13, 2012


BEWARE THE RHINO!
posted by mattoxic at 4:32 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]




Il fait beau dans l'métro!
posted by chrominance at 5:28 PM on September 13, 2012 [5 favorites]






Istanbul had the audacity to produce this commercial for the city's Metrobus, showing a suited businessman rejecting his company's service vehicle in favor of the public transport option, boarding a near-empty bus, riding in comfort and ease, while wheelchaired passengers easily roll on, greeted by a friendly driver who gives a knowing wink, while the smooth voiced narrator drones on about the metrobus "being suited for a modern society that reflects values of civilization: high-quality, fast, secure, and comfortable".

The reality is quite different -- it's a necessary means of transport for the city, but suggesting that it's comfortable, easiliy accessible by the disabled, or even fast (the bus has to share lanes with general traffic when crossing the Bosphorus) is ridiculous.

In response, the comedian Vatan Şaşmaz produced this amazing parody of the ad.
posted by Theiform at 2:36 AM on September 14, 2012 [3 favorites]


Anything: six-fingered door handles of Finnish trains.

What the hell? I've got to know the story behind this! Maybe a fact-finding mission to Finland is in order!
posted by crazy_yeti at 5:47 AM on September 14, 2012


Anything: six-fingered door handles of Finnish trains.
What the hell? I've got to know the story behind this! Maybe a fact-finding mission to Finland is in order!
Reduced cleaning bills and delays.

It makes sense. The man who designed these for the state railways has explained that the purpose of the six-fingered hand is to produce a humorous curiosity in passengers, prompting them to push that one spot on the door instead of pushing the door elsewhere, thus leaving a smaller area stained by fingerprints and saving time for the cleaning staff.
posted by Anything at 7:17 AM on September 14, 2012 [3 favorites]


Not to mention that the hand, I think, is brass, which has antimicrobial properties, so getting passengers to use it helps contain diseases.

All this efficiency and public safety at the meager cost of having an extra finger; it's a no-brainer.
posted by Anything at 7:41 AM on September 14, 2012


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