When did it become "cool" to sit at the front of the bus?

[Stealthflyer]

I’m thinking SQ… If sitting at the back gets me a row of three to myself on economy long haul, then I’ll do it in a flash. I managed to get an economy unicorn back from Europe late 2019: both long haul flights with a row to myself. There’s no champagne, but with some strategic blanket padding I find the economy “flat bed” more comfortable than J (blasphemous I know). Unfortunately in 2022, planes don’t seem to have a single seat spare. I like the forward seats if it’s going to be crammed because the smaller forward economy section (where applicable) is quieter.

VA… because I get complimentary economy X as a WP, I’m always going to choose the roomier seats that just happen to be near the front. Back in the dark days when I flew JQ, I’d usually locate myself second from the back though for speedy disembarking.

When it comes to a Tasmanian Metro bus, I’ll always be the semi-cool kid not quite at the back.

 

[drron]

Hmm, this must break some sort of universal law. We’re there any cool kids on your bus?

They were all sitting up the front with the girls.

 

[QF029]

The school bus was a hierarchy and the oldest / toughest sat at the back. This involved regular fights to prove your status / worth.

As an adult I'd much rather sit closer to the front (e.g. on a tour bus).

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Ok so my family owned a bus line and I grew up in the bus industry - without a doubt the kids / people at back of bus were always the little cough - most times the nicest would take a seat mid bus against a window leaving aisle seat open if someone wanted it.

Now as for planes - exp travellers have and do secure their favourite seats for a myriad of reasons - what I can never understand is the fascination of 1A - OMG I have never seen a plane where this is not the poxiest seat on the plane - what is lacking in someone’s life where they need to say looka me looka me I am in 1A?

As always YMMV

 

[QF029]

Ok so my family owned a bus line and I grew up in the bus industry - without a doubt the kids / people at back of bus were always the little cough - most times the nicest would take a seat mid bus against a window leaving aisle seat open if someone wanted it.

Was this in the SE suburbs by any chance? If so I was probably one of the little (big) cough.

I just did a quick calculation and would have had over 2,000 bus trips to or from high school. They were all charter buses. There would have been zero spare seats on any trip after the initial stop and typically 10-20 kids standing up. It was survival of the fittest if you wanted a seat. We were incredibly disrespectful to the bus drivers.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Nope in the bush

 

[mrsterryn]

Having gone economy to Hawaii and return a month or two ago I definitely sat all the way down the back. Though I did end up with someone sitting in the seat next to me midway in the flight (his partner had a medical emergency and was taken the empty four middle seats at the back ) . Coming home all alone in my little two seats.
As someone in their sixties the cool kids definitely sat in the back seat. I went from crib point to high school and it was a long trip lol . I have a vague recollection of surreptitious smoking also occuring. Nope I was nowhere near the back of that bus

 

[dajop]

Well, on the Vline train replacement coach I boarded on the weekend, I went straight to the back of the bus to be with the cool kids. Actually I went the only pair of 2 seats remaining, and I had teenagers behind and beside me. But like on a plane in economy, having an empty seat beside me always trumps a seat towards the front with an occupied seat beside me. The more I travel the more I'm inclined to chance it up the back for the prize of the empty seat (although you need to know your airline - Scoot fill their seats from the back).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

My flight is at T80 and I've logged in to select the best seats at the front of the aircraft. Being a rural, travel hours a day for school kind of kid, it occurs to me "when did it become cool to sit at the front"?

Many similarities exist between the school bus and aircraft. ie. you board via the front and those at the back are last off. Even in school, kids have status. Sure, it's based more around coolness or popularity than any sort of achievement or importance, but everyone reading this knows that the cool kids would sit at the back of the bus!

So, feel free to comment during this miserable Victorian Sunday afternoon as to why we now want the front of the bus! Is it all about being so important that we can't spare a few minutes to get off? Is it that we aren't traveling with other cool friends? Is it that the bus driver thinks we're more important if we're closer to the front? Or is it the bad experiences we had at the back of that school bus many years ago!

I'll start by saying, I was never a cool kid at the back of the bus, but I learnt not unnecessarily stand in the aisle while travelling because a cool kid would dack you!

About the time we changed from propellor to jet aircraft

With propellor aircraft first class was usually at the rear, quieter.

After jets came along the quieter section was towards the front.

 

[NM]

When I traveled on the school bus, it was the kids who wanted to smoke that sat at the back of the bus, furthest from the driver in the hope of not getting caught. Front was much more appealing to me.

 

[Hvr]

I was also a bus boy at school and the best seats were those beside the driver. (It was a very old bus.)

The stuff that happened on that bus would never be tolerated today. The door left open whilst driving because it got so hot.
Fireworks out of the window, and so on.
The further back the cooler it got. I rarely sat behind row 4.

 

[Scr77]

….The stuff that happened on that bus would never be tolerated today. The door left open whilst driving because it got so hot.

This is great, and as a light hearted thread I’m happy to go here. My favourite moment that wouldn’t be tolerated now (it wasn’t even tolerated then) was a food fight! Great fun and I wasn’t even participating! Makes me think of planing at trip to Spain for La Tomatina.

 

[Franky]

This is great, and as a light hearted thread I’m happy to go here. My favourite moment that wouldn’t be tolerated now (it wasn’t even tolerated then) was a food fight! Great fun and I wasn’t even participating! Makes me think of planing at trip to Spain for La Tomatina.

Gross - reminds me of many American comedies which weren't...

 

[gaz0303]

Caught an ATR today. Cool kids still at the back.

 

[justinbrett]

Rosa Parks didn’t think it was cool to ride at the back of the bus.

 

[tdimdad]

Caught an ATR today. Cool kids still at the back.

Learnt this the boring way. Though, rows 1-3 can be very peaceful and they still start serving water from the front.