Lives on tram 57

One of the unique characters of the city of Melbourne is its tram.  Trams are such a useful and convenient public transportation in the city.  You just need to hop on and off.  There are many tram lines, and when you look up the sky, you see the tram electric lines everywhere above you like a spider web.  Without taking a tram, you cannot tell about a life in Melbourne.  Yes, once you hop on a tram, you will find many lives on a tram.

I use tram 57 often.  It is because it is the only tram line that goes close to where I live.  Tram 57 is a very convenient tram, which goes to the centre of the city and passes a famous and large market, Queen Victoria Market.  Also, I often find many different cultures on tram 57.  Being on tram 57 makes me realise that Australia is a melting pot.  Yet, I still question if cultures are truly “melting” or if they are just “gathering.”  Popular lines tend to have two cars and they are usually quite new and clean, unfortunately, tram 57 has only one car and it is quite antique.  The size of the car is not so small, but you can hear people’s conversations from the head of it to the end of the car.  It does not mean people talk very loud (some people do though), I think voices somehow echo inside tram.  The first thing you will notice is the dangerous location of the tram stops.  They are usually in the middle of roads having about 70 – 90 cm (about 28 – 36 inches) wide waiting spot divided only by metal polls from a car road.  When a tram comes, it comes as close as about 30 cm (about 12 inches) to you.  Yes, if you like, you can touch a tram on the move.  It is very easy to cause psychical incidents.  Some stops have their signs on a pedestrian street, but when you hop on a tram, you have to cross a car road to the middle of road.  Since trams have their own traffic lights separated from cars, even trams stop, cars go though.  Luckily, almost all car drivers know that they have to stop their car when people are hopping on and off a tram.  I guarantee that it will take a while to get use to this weird system.

Speaking of their weird system, no one really pays tram fees.  At least to me, no one does.  There is a ticket vending machine on each tram, but no one checks.  Tram drivers are locked in a booth, separated from the passenger seats.  I always wonder how the government can get a profit of running trams.

After I started using tram 57, I noticed many things.

1-    There is not even a day without seeing anyone who is drunk or on drugs.

2-    Many people tell their life stories, which are usually sad or complaints without paying attention to whether there is actually anyone who is interested in listening/sharing.

3-    Crying girls on the phone.

4-    Quarrelling people on the phone.

5-    People asking for change to buy a tram ticket even though s/he is not intending to buy one.

6-    Tram officers (Yarra Trams) are just standing on the tram gossiping with their colleagues.  (They are supposed to check if passengers have valid tickets or not.)

7-    People complain to the tram driver about the trams even though the driver ignores them.

8-    Guys randomly start stripping.

9-    People dancing.

10- People asking other people many strange questions about their personal belongings. Even going through other people’s groceries!

At the beginning, I enjoyed watching other people’s lives on the tram 57.  I thought listening and seeing a bit of people’s lives on the tram would never bore me.  Yet, as time went by, I started being a bit scared.  It is because I will never know what kind of person I will meet on the tram 57.  Once it moves, I am stuck with those people and there is no way to get off.  A driver is isolated from the tram and cannot be reached physically.  I have seen some people start quarrelling badly, but no one including a driver did anything.  Other people had to just sit still and tried not to get involved or wishing the tram goes to the next stop soon.  Sooner or later, I started hoping for a quiet tram ride every time I hop on.  Now, I am just crossing my fingers for myself to get used to this soon.