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Talkative travelers

October 4, 2000

Q: I rode from Washington to New York on Amtrak’s Metroliner last week and a person behind me talked on the cell phone literally all the way to Philadelphia.

The situation is becoming intolerable. My direct appeals to Amtrak have been fruitless.

There is a debate over cell phone use being hazardous to one’s health. It will be one day, when I commit a violent act!

– David Speedie

A: Don’t do it, David! Attacking a chatty passenger isn’t the answer.

Let’s assume that Amtrak remains silent on the issue of excessively verbal passengers. In the future, it’s not inconceivable that it will create a special car where passengers can conduct business – kind of like a smoking section for cell phone users – but for now, let’s just say you’re stuck with it.

How do you handle it?

– First, try to move. Unless you’re traveling at peak times, there are always seats that are available. It doesn’t make any sense to stand your ground when someone around you is engaging in annoying behavior.

– If the train’s full, then ask the passenger to quiet down. Ever notice how many cell phone users scream into their wireless devices, as if they’re on a first-generation analog phone (remember the ones that weighed about as much as a brick and cost more than a computer?). Be polite and civil about it.

– Still no response? Then call the conductor. It’s up to the Amtrak employee to mediate any dispute between travelers. The loser gets to take the next train. Often, a conductor will try to find alternate seating for you or the offending passenger. And hey, that’s better than getting into a fistfight, isn’t it?

– Finally, consider a “silencer.” With a little engineering knowledge, you could build a limited-range 800 Megahertz scrambler. Such a contraption would cost less than $100 in parts to construct, but it would yield immediate benefits. Try as hard as he might, the traveler next to you could neither receive a call nor make one.

Good luck finding a quieter train, David.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

3 comments

  • Hollz

    My question is, would you feel this way about two passengers sitting beside one another, or is it the cell phone that bothers you? It seems to me that us cell phone users get blamed/written up about all the time, while people who are just plain LOUD get a pass. I know this was written almost nine years ago, but its still something I hear about all the time, and it really bothers me that people are complaining because of a cell phone. I’d bet you double or nothing, that if the letter had gone something like this :

    I rode from Washington to New York on Amtrak’s Metroliner last week and a person behind me talked to her seatmate literally all the way to Philadelphia.

    The situation is becoming intolerable. My direct appeals to Amtrak have been fruitless.

    You (or anyone else) would not have published it. I sincerly hope that the person writing it wouldn’t have sent it.

  • Ronda

    I say assign train carts, with signs, into three catagories. sign 1. quiet costomers 2. talk too much and too loudly passengers and 3. business passengers who apparently are deaf and talk on they’re cell phones… there problem fixed… and as punishment for getting on the wrong cart, being kicked off the train… whether its stopped or not… (this is why i dont take trains often :D) ((plus i’d belong in the talk too muchn and too loudly passenger cart))

  • elliot hutkin

    (this is a REALLY OLD story) but…on today’s trains, the first or last car is often designated a”quiet car” with no loud media or cell phones allowed…problem solved by the carriers!

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