Waiting at the Bus Stop

In the picture, a group of primary school pupils in uniform are waiting at a covered bus stop in a housing estate, with their bags still on and a bus approaching in the distance. One of the boys has stood up and is gesturing towards the bench, where an elderly woman with a shopping trolley is settling into the seat he has given up. On the right, a girl is pointing upwards, showing something to the younger pupils beside her. What I also noticed is that nobody has moved towards the kerb even though the bus is coming, so the woman is not being rushed while she sits down.

On the MRT one evening, an elderly man got on holding two heavy bags, and the seats were all taken. I stood up and offered him mine, but he waved his hand and said he was getting off soon. I felt a bit awkward standing there, because I had already given the seat away and now neither of us was sitting in it. Then he told me to sit back down, and when he got off three stops later he tapped my shoulder and said thank you anyway. After that I stopped worrying about looking silly, because the offer still counted even though he did not take it.

I feel it should stay a choice. A rule would only cover the obvious cases, and most of the people who need a seat do not look like they need one — someone recovering from an illness, or a pregnant woman early on, would still be standing while a rule about elderly passengers was being followed perfectly. Making it a choice means we have to actually look at the people around us, which is the part that matters. I understand why some people want a rule, because reserved seats do get taken and nobody wants to be the one to say something, however I believe a person who only gives up a seat because a sign tells them to will walk straight past the next person who is not covered by the sign. That is why I believe noticing is worth more than obeying here.