Subway Seating Around the World

A friend of my was planning a trip abroad and was doing some research on the various cultures he would be visiting. This got me to thinking about subway etiquette and norms in different regions around the world – Europe, Latin/South America and Asia – and how they are similar and different from New York City subway culture.

London Tube

All trains have priority seating for disabled people, pregnant women, older people, those travelling with children and anyone less able to stand. Riders “are expected to leave these seats free or vacate them if they see someone who might require a seat.” The London Transit Web site encourages people to ask for a seat if no one immediately offers.



Brits take things one step further. Pregnant women can also obtain 'Baby on board' badges, making it clear to other passengers that they would welcome a seat. I thought this was an interesting concept and would help alleviate any confusion as to whether a woman is pregnant or not. It began in 2005 in London and similar campaigns were later introduced in Beijing and Tokyo. I wonder how they keep people from abusing the system, though?

Tokyo Metro

The Tokyo Metro lists only three ‘subway manners’ for straphangers to be mindful of (as opposed to the dozens listed for New York and London):

• Silence your cell phone or turn it completely off.


• Give up your seat “should someone need it more” than you.


• Women-only cars are, as the name suggests, for women only and are identified by the pink signs on the doors.

Buenos Aires

I also wanted to see if similar customs exist in Latin/South America. They do. Although finding the information on line was a bit of a challenge, giving up one’s seat for elderly and disabled riders, pregnant women and riders with small children, was a theme through out many of the sites I read.

So, at the end of the day, you can rest assured that mass transit etiquette is generally the same no matter where in the world you go. Expect the etiquette rules to give special consideration to the elderly and disabled along with pregnant women and people with young children. You can expect, too, that people will have strong opinions about the implied obligation to give up their seats.