Keeping the bus tidy

We seem to have lost the old adage about putting something back where you found it. The sentiment is clearly in Metro's mind in this gentle reminder to passengers not to litter the bus. It's a straightforward enough note - don't leave the Metro on your seat, take it you (hidden message: take it to work, and share, thus boosting readership figures or subtext, put it back in the container at the front). Whichever, please take not only the Metro, but a dash of citizen responsibility.

You do worry about the need for such a notice, about the extent of the problem necessitating this. And the graphical information overload we're subjected to day and daily. Where does it stop - please do not say 'I'm on the bus' whenever someone calls you, please do have a shower before entering the bus, please remember to be polite as you barge to alight, please keep your music to a din - that kind of thing.

While there's a wee bit too much 'command and control' in such a notice, at least the Metro is trying to be responsible, to accept that a bus can get a little unkempt with newspapers strewn across seats and floor. Or maybe it's proof that we have a little too much time on our hands in public transport (it's a slow one - 33minutes on what should be 16). Further down from me, at the entrance to the bus, there's a sign cautioning us against violent behaviour towards a driver. That we need that kind of sign is worse still. Perhaps any sign has its use overall.