Anxiety Aunt: Help! The Daily Commute Frays My Nerves
Jay Hanna, The West Australian, Sat, 21 March 2026 2:30 AM
How to survive the daily commute: I recently became a commuter, and my journey takes just over 90 minutes to get to work via train, then bus, with walking in between. Oh, and there is a car drop-off at the station because there is not any parking left unless you arrive very early. What causes me even more dismay is the lack of etiquette on public transport. Simple things like people putting bags on spare seats prevent others from sitting down, commuters not moving further down the aisle so more people can get on if the bus is busy, and people blabbing on their mobile phones force the rest of us to listen. Now I understand why so many wear headphones. How can I improve my journey without feeling the need to reprimand others?
Yours, Reluctant Commuter
Dear Reluctant Commuter,
It is times like these that your Aunt is grateful One works from home. Often in One's dressing gown and slippers no less, and more likely than not with toast and marmalade crumbs scattered over One's lap. It is not a glamorous life, my dear. One does not wish to bash public transport though, Reluctant Commuter, as it is vital in any busy city that the public transport network is well-used and supported. Your Aunt is just lucky that One does not need to travel at peak times because there is only so much of the human race that One can tolerate all at the one time. Do not you agree, Reluctant Commuter?
It is not the people themselves that are the problem really, but the fact that they produce so many strange sounds and odd smells. And One simply cannot abide those with long hair flicking it into One's face. Indeed, and this could be something of a tangent, dear Reluctant Commuter, but One hates hair in general. People grow these manes, and sometimes it does look lovely, but your Aunt just cannot get over the fact it is just dead cells hanging from their head, bleeurrrggh. No, your Aunt is all about either nice, neat, short locks or hair that is pulled back and well out of danger of flying loose into someone's face, or worse still, into their food.
And do not even get One started on not just talking on speaker phone but actually FaceTiming in public. Your Aunt once went on a coach trip with old Bert Saunders next door to the Pinnacles, and the person in front of us was FaceTiming someone the entire time, even when we were disembarking from and getting back on the coach. How they did not fall and land flat on their face, One will never know. And, in some regards, One wishes they had because their utter disregard for other travellers was galling. One has seen similar behaviour in airports, and One does not like it one little bit, Reluctant Commuter.
So yes, One understands your plight. It can indeed be frustrating and difficult being amidst the throng of humanity. Still, there are things to be thankful for, like the fact we do not live in Tokyo where commuters are literally pushed onto trains by appropriately-named "pushers" and packed in like sardines. It does not bear thinking about how many hair strands would end up in the mouth over there or in other hugely populated cities, Reluctant Commuter.
So Here Is Your Aunt's Advice:
- Accept that a busy public transport system is part of city life.
- If able, try requesting some work-from-home days so you do not have to commute five days a week.
- Skew your working days so you either start and finish early or later to miss the worst of the crowds.
- If this is not possible, then One would indeed suggest a big pair of noise-cancelling headphones to listen to a calming podcast or curated playlist of soothing tunes.
- Avoid sitting next to anyone with loose flowing locks lest you end up eating them for breakfast.
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox. Sign up for our emails.
