Those of you that have visited London and travelled on public transport at rush-hour, will understand why we felt compelled to launch our latest PR campaign. Even the happiest Londoners morph in to angry, aggressive and antisocial creatures when they get on a bus or train to work!
We wondered, why not use that time to network and socialise with fellow commuters, rather than staring stonily at the ground?
So, we conducted a survey into commuters’ attitudes up and down the UK – where are commuters the friendliest and do we really want to love or hate our fellow passengers?
Unsurprisingly, Londoner travellers (48%) were the most likely to avoid contact with other commuters. But once you looked beyond the Capital, the survey's results were actually quite heartening:
• (56%) of Brits admit they regularly smile at strangers on route to work and nearly half (44%) have struck up a conversation with fellow passengers
• In fact, a third (33%) of Brits confess they’ve swapped numbers, become friends or met up with someone they’ve met on their commute
• Cardiff takes the crown as the UK’s Friendliest Commuter Capital where over half (55%) of commuters admit they are actively friendly to other travellers by exchanging smiles and initiating conversation, compared to the UK average of 49%
Yet – as those of us who commute through London already know – there’s still work to be done. More than one third (34%) of people we talked to said they would like to change the attitude of those who are rude and aggressive and 28% want more friendly commuters.
So Badooers – let’s show everyone how it’s done! Why not use your journey to work to meet new people and make new friends? (And if you do strike up a new friendship on your way to work – be sure to send us a note and tell us about it!)