Sydneysiders are a tolerant bunch. Mostly. That being said, it can’t be denied that there are certain things that grind our gears. From public transport faux pas' to hefty tolls to flouts of coffee shop etiquette, there are some things that really get Sydneysiders going. We asked our readers to share the small things that fill the people of the Harbour City with irrational rage – take a deep breath and read on.
The state of (and users of) Sydney’s roads
Unsurprisingly, Sydney’s roads are cited as the main point of unnecessary (and occasionally necessary) fury for Sydneysiders. These are the things that annoy you most on our roads:
“Aggressive drivers. Sydney seems to have a higher proportion of them than anywhere else!”
“Bad traffic manners like people who drive and don’t do the polite 'thank you' wave after you’ve held up traffic to allow them to merge.”
“Beeping horns when the traffic lights change.”
“Drivers who are stopped at lights and don’t put on their right turn indicator until the light turns green so that cars behind, who could have avoided been held up, are then stuck behind them.”
“Not doing the speed limit or keeping left on 80 zone.”
“Cyclists on Anzac Parade during peak hour.”
“The copious amounts of speed humps that are everywhere.”
“The insane amount of parking signs on one pole. 'You can park here for 23 minutes on the blue moon or every Saturday between 1am and 1:07am. Otherwise it's taxi zone or clearway. But Mondays are ok. Except that Monday while you're there'. Go figure”
“People who hog the right hand lane and go under the speed limit.”
“Pushbike lanes, no parking, potholes.”
“Sitting at traffic lights, waiting for green and the person at the front doesn’t move as they’re daydreaming not looking AT THE LIGHTS!"
Not-cool behaviour on public transport
Next up was behaviour on public transport, with Time Out readers having a lot of opinions about what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour on PT. Here are a few things that irritate our readers on Sydney’s public transport system:
“People watching videos or listening to music without headphones in public spaces like trains, restaurants, movie theatres, etc.”
“The people who decide to look for their wallet or opal card right in front of the gate holding everyone else up during peak time.”
“People who stand on the right hand side of the escalator instead of the left!!!”
“Feet on train seats.”
“People who step off the escalator and stop.”
“Bluetooth speakers on public transport.”
“People who board a bus/train without letting people get off first.”
Cozzie livs
And then, of course there was the cost of living, with one of our readers citing “the price of everything” as something that grinds Sydneysiders’ gears. Frankly, we’re with them.
Poor café etiquette
Café etiquette is another point of contention for the people of Sydney, with Time Out Sydney readers listing the following gripes with café patrons:
“Wearing headphones and listening to music or whatever while ordering at a cafe or at the checkouts . As a service worker, it drives me insane.”
“People who order their coffee and then wait close to the register so everyone else has to ask them if they’ve ordered.”
“Terrible coffee, there is just no excuse.”
Though a lot of these gripes are fair enough, our readers shared a few that we’re not sure pass the got-out-of-bed-on-the-right-side test. To the people who responded “the human race”, “people” and “Melburnians”, we think you’re giving Sydneysiders a bad name.
To the person who said “Peeps who hate Sydney and yet here they are” – very good point.
Want more from the people who read Time Out? Here’s our readers’ guide to saving money in Sydney, here are our readers’ favourite hidden gems in the Harbour City, and here are our readers' favourite free activities
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