Passenger encounters ‘weird auntie on MRT’ who told him, ‘Excuse me, don’t you think you’re sitting too close to me? It’s not very polite’

SINGAPORE: A routine morning commute on the East-West Line took an awkward turn for one passenger after an unexpected remark from a fellow commuter. The incident, shared on Reddit’s r/asksg public forum, unfolded at Boon Lay station during the weekday morning rush and quickly sparked a wave of knowing reactions from Singaporeans who have seen it all on public transport.

According to the post, the passenger had just boarded the MRT and taken a seat when an elderly woman sitting beside him spoke up. He recounted that she, in what he described as “her most posh and privileged tone,” said, “Excuse me. Don’t you think you’re sitting too close to me? It’s not very polite.”

What made the comment stranger for him was the visible space between them. “I looked at the gap of the seats between her and me…” he wrote, expressing that the distance left him speechless.

Faced with the woman’s remark early in the morning, the passenger decided it was not worth the effort to respond. “For me, I just moved seats lol, it’s 7:45 a.m., and I’m too tired to pick a fight,” he added.

“Good choice on not engaging with her further…”

The post found traction with many Singaporeans, who felt the response was the sensible one. One commenter summarised it all up with: “Good choice on not engaging with her further. It’s a waste of energy on things that don’t matter.”

Others shared similar experiences, noting that public transport, especially during peak hours, often brings heightened sensitivities. Another commenter recalled an encounter from years ago that still stuck with him.

“1.5 decades ago, I was on board the train to Raffles MRT in the morning. It was packed to the brim,” he wrote. “I was playing some traffic game on my phone when I felt a tap on my shoulder. A lady said my bag was touching her bag, and asked me to stop it.”

He added that the contact was minimal and unavoidable. “My bag wasn’t moving or rubbing her bag. One of the corners was touching her bag instead.”

Peak hour pressure cooker

Taken together, the stories paint a familiar picture of Singapore’s MRT during rush hour: tightly packed cabins, tired commuters, and personal space becoming a scarce resource.

In this case, the passenger’s decision to simply move seats resonated with many. Rather than escalating a minor situation into a full-blown confrontation, he chose the path of least resistance, which is a choice that fellow commuters applauded as practical and emotionally economical.

When silence is the smarter move

The Reddit discussion did not descend into outrage or name-calling. Instead, it reflected a broader, unspoken understanding among daily commuters: Some battles are not worth fighting, especially before the workday has even begun.

As one commenter implied, energy is finite. Spending it on a stranger’s unreasonable complaint, particularly in the confined space of an MRT carriage, rarely leads to a satisfying outcome.

For this passenger, the morning continued without further incident, and it’s a small reminder that sometimes, the calmest response on public transport is simply to stand up, move on, and save your energy for the rest of the day.

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