When on a bus should a young person give up their seat for an elderly person? If so, how old does the person have to be...you wouldn't want to offend anyone! :S
by 
Superjimmeh
ANSWERS: 21
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If they look tired or in pain, you should give them your seat regardless of age.
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Only if a person looks like they need the seat more than me,I offer it.If they accept is a whole new thing.I'm pretty good at telling who's who with things usually,though we don't have a bus system,I usually will do common curtisies for less fortunate induviduals,regardless of age or sex.Some elderly aged people can still rock!!!*+++++*
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Good point ... I would think giving up your seat for someone who is obviously having problems standing or looks disabled would be best. I'm an older person and wouldn't appreciate it if someone offered me their seat just because I'm older! LOL It would be a nice thought, but I'm still able to stand up!
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I give my seat to people with walking sticks, pregnant women, basically anyone who looks like they need it more than I do in regards to people who are older... Well I just play it by ear... If they look older than my mam then I give it up.
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If you are a boy or a man, you should offer your seat to any girl or woman out of politness regardless of age or condition. A boy or a man should offer his seat to any person who has an obvious difficulty or is elderly and infirm.(generally 60 or older) This obviously does not apply to the elderly or infirm man giving up his seat although I have seen elderly men quickly give up his seat to a woman many times.
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When? Always. One should always offer a seat to those who APPEAR more infirm than you, no matter what age they are. This would also include pregnant women and people on crutches/ with walkers. The person being offered the seat always has the option to decline, and in my experience, sometimes does.
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I usually sit at the back of the bus, so I'm never really faced with this problem. Elderly people should stick to the front of the bus. In the city I live in, you are actually supposed to give up your seat (in the front of the bus) to the elderly, pregnant people, and blind people if they ask you to. There's signs over the seats that are reserved for them. Also, there are even seats on the buses here for wheelchairs. Anyway, yes, point blank, a young person should offer his or her seat to an elderly person, especially if that elderly person has trouble standing.
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What really made me ask this question was something that happened to me today. The bus station in my city has a bench in a shelter that can probably seat about 20 people. I was probably the 15th person along nearest the end and some elderly people came and sat down , leaving room for 1 more person. A couple around the same age then came along and the lady sat down, leaving the man standing up. I was the nearest young person towards the end and wasn't sure whether I should stand up and let the man sit down, or if that offend him. So I rolled a cigarette as an excuse to stand up and move, which I did , over to the railings opposite. The man sat down. What would you have done if you were me then, stayed sitting down, offered him the seat, or made an excuse as I did? ( I just thought the bus question was simpler lol!)
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I would say they have to be grey haired, wrinkled, and look really tired. Age is a difficult thing to judge especially when you are young. LOL
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This is a nice Q; I'm glad you're thinking about this. (The seat you give up may be to me.) The general rule is that you should give up your seat to anyone "substantially older" than yourself. That is, if you're in your twenties you wouldn't judge and give up your seat to someone in their thirties or probably even forties. But if you saw someone who appeared to be in his fifties, then that's a candidate. Likewise, a man in his fifties isn't going to give up a seat to some other man of about the same age or only slightly older -- that would be pretty weird. But I'd be up in a shot to give up my seat to someone who seemed to be in his seventies or older. And I'd give it up, too, for any woman of any age (past "school-age", that is), or to anyone with difficulty standing, hanging on to a strap or pole, etc.
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Well I would say yes to this but you know, ever since the price of buses has sky rocketed I am less inclined to give up my seat which I paid through the nose for. This question is like saying, would you give your food to a homeless guy if asked and I would say no.
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That's a good question, and it is difficult to answer since it is a judgement call. You want to do the polite and respectful thing, and offer your seat to elderly/disabled/pregnant.. but you really don't want to offend them! Really... you just have to offer it if you assume from looking at the person that they may have more trouble standing than you. There will always people people who are offended though!
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I give up my seat for anyone who is having trouble standing, or looks like they shouldn't be standing. This includes, the old, the sickly, pregnant women, and people with lots of bags. As for old people, I kind of go on a case-by-case basis. There is no magic age, when I give up my seat. If the person looks old enough to have trouble standing on the bus, I get up. If I don't want to ask, for fear of offending, I pretend to get up for some other reason, so that the seat is vacant for them, but I don't have to risk offense.
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Im 20, so I pay for my bus fare and it's flippin expensive. Elderly people get it free so they can stand if there are no seats left. I've paid for my seat and I'm entitled to sit on it. It's not a prerequisite that I should get up. It's like this, if older people don't like the fact that there are no seats left and start huffing and puffing then perhaps they should just stay in and knit.
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its a respect thing ,can't put an age limit on it...i'm close to 50 ,so i'd respectfully give up mine to let an older person sit down....its more your personal perception and respect of others.... in my house growing up, you had better not make the mistake of an older person having to ask you if they could sit down or my dad having to tell you to get up...and i did the same in my house with my own ....but i remember many kids having to made to get up and really getting mad when they had to...it was sad....
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iggg. in my mind, pregnant women have first dibs on everything. then, people with canes. then elderly people. then people carrying lots of stuff. then women, children, and men. i think a 99 year old man with a cane ought to offer his seat to an 18 year old pregnant girl. i think that she shouldn't take it most of the time that disabled or elderly offer. age its ok? most elderly people over 65 ought to remain seated. 45 with an oxygen tank leave her be. you know, there seems some kind of ironic justice when i give up my seat so that rosa parks can sit there.
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Hells yeah, I've too many young people just set and watch eldery people stand in disappointment and they have no type of consideration for them. I don't know the age, but common sense can tell....so I guess they have no manners or common sense.
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I would give it up for ANYONE who seems to have bigger problems than myself. (By problems I mean no offense, just if I have the ability to stand with less difficulty than the other person.) Whether pregnant, elderly, even tired-looking, if I know at that time that I can provide someone with more comfort than I need, I will give it up. Most of the time, though, sometimes I just want to sit after a long day, and you can't make me move;)
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you dont have to do anything,unless you feel inclined to do so because you deem it neccesary(regardless of their age),not because of what is socially acceptable...the question is,what do you want?...
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An Excellent point. And tough to answer. I would offer to any encumbered or disabled person, regardless of age. As far as elderly, judgment call. I lost my hair early and people used to ask me things like "Were you in 'Nam?", when I was in my early and mid-twenties. I replied, "No, I was in elementary school". Never try to judge a person's age by their appearance. Leave that to the age and weight guessing specialists on the boardwalks of the Atlantic resorts.
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One should always give up one's seat for someone older than oneself, age is not a consideration.
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