Introduction

A busy commuter train station might seem like a very individualized place. Tens or hundreds of thousands of strangers flow through with a singular purpose: to get where they need to go. Whether walking through the main doors at a pace of a dozen people each second or arriving by train hundreds at a time, the station can feel a bit like a balloon being pumped too full. Throngs of people cluster in tight bottlenecks until they burst through corridors and stairways and tunnels to reach the next stage of their journey. In some stations, walking against the crowd can be a tedious, nearly impossible process. Cutting across a river of determined commuters can be almost dangerous: things are fast, relentless, and necessary.

But are people really acting individually?

It may seem surprising, but even with those numbers, strangers from across cities can synch up on the same schedules, use the same doors, and take one leg of the trip together every day before separating into different directions. After just a few months, faces can become familiar, and senses can be tuned.

An experienced commuter can tell where another person is going according to their pace and whatever announcement just went out; they may slow up a bit to let the other person pass, or hold a door open just a bit longer than usual, certain that someone will grab the handle behind them. Many regular travelers don’t need to check the schedule board; they sense whether a train is running late or whether a track has changed simply by the crowd’s movement.

Then the customs develop: Which side to walk on, how fast to go, where to stand, and how much space to leave between people on the escalator.

When you board early, which seat should you take?

Do you jam the closing door with your foot when you see someone running for the train?

How does the crowd treat people who ask for food or money?

What’s the risk level of telling someone to be quiet?

Very few of these behaviors are taught. None are written down. But the transit hub, that pocket of constant flow, is an echo of its society. It takes on some aspects of the city and country around it, but its people also form an informal group of their own.

Sociologists, as you will learn, may study these people to understand how they feel about their trip – whether they are proud, annoyed, or just plain exhausted. Sociologists might study how the length of commute relates to job satisfaction or family relationships. They may study how conditions of a train station affect attitudes about government, or how the difficulty of commuting may lead people to relocate.

This understanding isn’t just a collection of interesting facts; it can influence government policy and spending decisions, employer interventions, and healthcare practices.

The work sociologists do to understand our society, and the work you will do in learning about it is meaningful to our lives and our futures.