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Keep in mind that the public transit in question probably has its own rules---technically you're not supposed to eat on the CTA here in Chicago and when the train is infested with mice, roaches and pigeons they'll just blame it on the scofflaws who eat on the train.

As long as someone is well mannered, I don't care what they eat on public transit. I have issues with people chewing loudly with their mouths open, licking their fingers and wiping their hands on their pants, putting drinks on the floor and conveniently forgetting to pick them up when they exit the bus or subway car.

No food on metro in DC - you'll get arrested.

I agree about smelly stuff but chips? I don't know. They seem like such a natural on-the-go snack.

I think its totally gross to eat on the subway. A granola bar I could forgive but anything else is completely offensive.

My worst experience was one day smelling cold corn on the subway around 8:30 am. Cold corn reminds me of fishing with my grandfather when I was young. He used to put some on the hook with the bait. Cold canned corn has a distinct odor and whenever I smell it I get nauseous. After 10 minutes of trying to figure out where the smell was coming from, I see an older lady eating it....off the cob in the corner of the train. Not only that, once she had finished she put them in her hand...the same hand that was holding the rail! puke!

anything excessively crunchy? wow. i think that's a bit much...

I agree on the anything smelly for sure! I think you have to add anything hot, usually heated food has an aroma.

I am in Boston and take an extended commuter bus to work everyday and there are people who grab Dunkin's or McD's at the station before the ride home. It's totally disgusting. But I am easily grossed out. For example the smell of flavored, particularly French Vanilla, coffee to me is revolting.

Coffee, water or a granola bar is all I'll dare to eat on the subway... anything where you touch the food with your hands (after your hands have touched the handrail) is not so appealing to me. Though often I'll feel too self-conscious to eat in such close quarters with others (who may be really hungry too - and I didn't bring enough for the whole bus!).

Realjen01, do you commute by bus/metro? I do. At the end/beginning of my day, the LAST thing I want to do is listen to someone crunch all the way in to the city. I'm also of the "no talking" crowd, I don't want to hear that your boss is SUCH an ass and Oh my god, did you hear what so and so did... I just want to doze off and/or unwind.

As for eating on the bus, it's not allowed here, but I could see a granola bar or something similar.

Yeah. We're not faced with this in DC. Although I will sneak on a coffee when it's not rush hour (usually the weekends).

Nothing you have to touch... so a nutrigrain bar is okay, and apple is not... Those handles and things just arent the cleanest.

Honestly, the best thing is to not. In los angeles, you can get a ticket and seeing apple cores and banana peels on the seats. Eat before you get on the bus or on the train platform, dump your waste in the bin.

Personally, I don't do it. But I don't mind if other people do as long as it doesn't smell and they contain their food waste.

Don't drink anything but water on public transportation, and then only if you have something to mop it up if you spill a little. I don't care how careful you are, all it takes is one guy pushing his luck on a yellow light to make a bus start and stop suddenly. After that you've got a rush hour bus that has three seats that are now coffee puddles because someone can't ride to work without their cup of joe. I can't tell you how often I see this. Just don't do it. You can have your coffee at work.

I don't eat anything on public transportation. I might pop a mint or hard candy in my mouth, but that's generally single serving and self contained. There's not much that can go wrong there.

Anything with kimchee in it. Believe it or not, its quite common in Vancouver.

In NYC, I once saw an elderly Italian man delicately cutting up a whole fish on his lap with a knife and fork. Not just a butter knife, mind you.
I find it particularly obnoxious when someone rides, talks on their cell and eats at the same time.

It depends on what kind of transit it is. I take a commuter train and then the subway every day, and while I don't think twice about eating on the train, I don't eat on the subway.

There's a few factors involved. The important ones are density, cleanliness, and other passengers' line of sight. On the commuter train, I'm sitting so I don't have to be touching any rails, I usually have my own seat so I'm not directly next to anyone, and everyone faces the same way. Subway cars are much more open, so everyone is looking at everyone else, and crowded so you're either right next to people or hanging onto a rail.

I think they should put cellphone jammers onto trains and buses. There's absolutely no reason to be on the phone on the train/bus. I know jammers are illegal but I think talking on your cellphone on a bus/train should be illegal instead.

Eating on public transport is illegal, and for very good epidemiological reasons. Period.

Ha! This reminds me of the anthrax incident a few years ago... the NYC BOH took forever reporting the results of wipe samples of the subway, and they finally explained that they had a problem with the samples because there was so much " biomass"!!- It got a big laugh from the knowing press....

Eating in the subway is like eating in a restroom. YUK!!!

I've been known to eat a granola bar when my blood sugar drops too low and I get a headache and I'm on my way somewhere. But I generally try not to for all the reasons listed above (dirty grossness, noise, etc.).

As for liquids, I always have a water bottle with me. In the mornings I make my tea at home and carry it into work in a *sealed* thermos. But I don't actually drink it while on the trolley.

I would rather not eat on the subway and I find hot food odors horribly offensive. Since having a child though, I recognize his need to eat while we travel so I always have food available, occasionally of a stinky variety (hard-boiled eggs come to mind).

I have also been guilty of transporting stinky goods but what can a cheese lover do?

http://www.izzyeats.com/2007/11/new-york-city-on-odd-characters-and.html

wow.
not like i'm pulling out my entrees and flatware here- but really?

have any of you ever turned to the offender and told them to stash it?

i for one- willing to be the jerk here- so doesn't care if someone is offended by what i'm eating. i'm eating on the train b/c i'm hungry. b/c i haven't had a chance to sit down. b/c i'm going to pass out. b/c it's a longer day still yet to get through.

i'm not advocating pulling out the lunch box and tucking in. but man.

No no no no. The smelly/fussy stuff is an obvious "don't", but even granola bars and fruit irritate me--it's the massive amounts of trash that gets left behind on buses and trains! I'm a daily commuter and I see my beautiful city turn into a giant trashcan every day by dusk. It's disgusting, especially the orange peels on seats, slipping when one accidentally steps on a chip bag on the floor, and half-empty bottles of pop rolling around underfoot.

Wake up a little earlier and make yourselves a proper breakfast at home...it's healthier for you to sit down and eat a proper meal anyways.

Around here, the buses have a "no eating" sign, though it's a rare driver who will enforce it. I'll very rarely take anything more than a bottle of sode or water, though once in a blue moon I'll take a travel mug of something to drink in the a.m., if I'm desperate.

Eating if your blood sugar has dropped dangerously low is one thing, but I always think of public transit like the sign I once read in an Upper GI waiting room:

"Please don't eat. Many of the patients around you have been fasting for 12 hours or more."

Above and beyond the spill or pest problem, that's my real beef with eating on transit -- you never know who around you is *desperate* for a meal that they may or may not ever get. If your blood sugar's low, or whatever the pressing issue is, get off and eat somewhere else. It's safer, and more courteous.

Hilarious.

In Minneapolis it is against the rules to eat on the bus, but you can have covered liquids.

I see people eating all the time on the bus. McDonalds, Taco Bell, and White Castle are all big offenders. I've seen whole families eating KFC, which is kind of funny. At least once a week I get on a bus with a pile of sunflower seed waste in the back. Wonder why there are cockroaches?

But I prefer eating to some of the other illegal things I've seen: smoking crack out the window, drinking and puking on the bus, peeing in cups in the back, and sex acts.

My commute isn't long enough for me to eat. The only food or drink items I bring with me include the occasional cup of coffee or tea (I don't drink it on the trolley) and my breakfast and/or lunch that I'll eat in the office once I get there.

I don't have a problem with people eating on the trolley - I'm usually too engrossed in reading something to notice others. But, I do have a problem with the trash. And as far as germs go, I don't care about other people's germs - I just use common sense and wash my hands with hot water and soap once I get to the office.

SOME people have multiple jobs so they work every damn day and have ridiculously long commutes to jobs where they dont' really get a lot of breaks so SOME people think the rest of the train just has to deal for 4 minutes while I eat my peanutbutter toast on my hour commute to Queens. Did I say 'my' I mean... uhh someone's...

'Eating in the subway is like eating in a restroom. YUK!!!'
In Chicago, the trains -are- bathrooms. Which is why I'd never eat on the CTA.

I really hate it when I'm sitting on a train and someone behind me is crunching chips with their mouth open. I have been known to change seats if there's another available one. I've also had someone sit in the seat next to me a proceed to eat an entire bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. So gross.

Eating on the bus or subway is NASTY. I hate getting on the CTA in Chicago and seeing a pile of chicken wing bones. Shockingly, this is something I encounter frequently.

Live and let live is what I say.

Everyone here is so sensitive. Wah wah...people live busy lives and sometimes you just have to eat on your commute. Are you really THAT offended by the smell or sound of a food that you need to let it ruin your mood and cause you all this unwarranted stress and anger??? Take a deep breath and try some meditation.

sheesh!

What is with all the people who eat chicken on the subway, and then leave their gnawed bones on the floor -- sometimes still in the styrofoam box, sometimes dropped on the floor? In NYC chicken bones rank just behind newspapers as the most common form of trash but newspaper is much less attractive to rats.

I can't really imagine the crunch of eating chips (or the crinkle of the bag) generating enough noise to compete with just the sound of the subway itself. Or the bus. Perhaps if it was a super smooth commuter train. Still...unless you're munching down like none other, it should really be that disturbing.

I'm pretty sure there's some kind of no food or drink rule on public transport in Boston but it's not really enforced and no one really cares if you eat. Even smelly burritos or tuna. It's not like it really makes it smell worse than if you weren't eating that stuff.

I think it mostly depends on the time of day and how crowded the bus/train is. anything smelly is a no, as is anything requiring silverware no matter the time. but something like an apple or a donut depends: if the bus is empty and you can sit down, that's fine (though maybe not legal). but if you're standing and trying to balance and in a situation where someone might bump into you or you'll have to alternate holding the bar and your food (eww!), it's best not to eat anything. I've even seen people eating granola bar type foods who end up bumping into everyone around them because they are more concerned with eating than maintaining their balance. just be considerate of everyone around you!

I don't mind if people eat on the subway. I wouldn't personally do it but it doesn't bother me if others do.
The only reason I'd gripe or moan is if they don't clean up their trash... then its a problem.

They are seriously strict with their no eating policy on the Metro in DC. Sometimes I'll see sunflower seeds or bottles, but that's usually the worst with food. I'm surprised people can eat on the train with how crowded it gets during rush hour. I barely have enough room to stand.

What's worse than food are some people's BO. I know we all have busy lives but is it that hard to take a quick shower? Your perfume/cologne is not masking your funky smell.

Tiamat_the_Red--Yes I do commute by train everyday. They're called headphones...know them, use them.

I have them, love them and can't turn them up loud enough to drown out my co-commuters without risking hearing damage. Ear plugs don't help much, either. Belive me, I've tried.

I think most of the folks who have put their two cents in this post will agree that their problem is not with the eating on transit, but with the garbage and mess left behind by the eater. Eat whatever you want, hygene is a personal issue so if you're ok with touching rails then eating with your hands, that is certainly your own choice, I don't care so long as you take your waste with you when you go. If your food stinks, I'll move...

I once saw a man drink 2L of Diet Coke during a 20 minute bus ride. It totally grossed me out, but it was my fault for watching, he certainly didn't seem to have a problem with it.

I'm all for a common sense of decency in the world, but it's going to take a much lower common denominator for things like this to work out.

I'd say no nuts, since a lot of people have nasty allergies, and can have reactions just by being relatively near them. It would be embarrassing to send someone into anaphylactic shock because you're eating a peanut butter sandwich on the same subway car.