A great British tradition?

When an Italian friend of Tensator’s came over to the UK for a visit recently, we were amazed at how baffled she was by the prospect of queuing for a bus! Every time a group of us passed a bus stop a big smile would appear on her face as she looked at the formal line of passengers waiting patiently!

It seems that there’s no such formality on the continent and it’s all a bit of a scrum when the bus arrives. This got us thinking – why do we all fall in line when queuing for public transport? After all, there’s no signage that we know of at bus stops suggesting that we all form a single file queue and stare blankly ahead, waiting for the first glimpse of a bus on the horizon.

After much debate, we simply decided that it must be one of those quirky traditions that Brits are renowned for. Our sense of humour and taste in food both help to characterise the British according to our friend, and we’re sure that the bus queue phenomenon will achieve equal legendary status now that she has headed back to Italy!