Public transport users have been left in disbelief after learning that there’s a little-known trick you can do with seats on certain buses in the UK.
The feature, which was shared in a TikTok video by @harleyrosesheart, makes sitting back with your feet up after a long day easier, and doesn’t get dirt from your shoes on other seats.
Harley Rose’s viral clip shows passengers on a More Bus in Bournemouth discovering that there are seats you can flip up, to reveal a solid bench to put your feet on.
A message on the back of the seat reads: ‘If someone needs the seat, be a sweet and remove your feet’.
‘Who bloody knew,’ the video proclaims, and judging by the 152,000 likes it’s received, it’s safe to assume many people did not know about this.
A fellow TikToker named Isabelle (@issiewizzy11) claimed it had ‘blown her mind’ when she realised you could flip the seats up. She explained: ‘I got on the bus a few months ago and it was already up. But not all of them have this, I think it’s being phased in.’
According to other replies, the seats have been spotted on M1 and M2 buses in Poole and Bournemouth, as well as ‘a few X3’ ones and some in the Isle of Wight. None have been seen in London as of yet.
People have been astounded by the discovery, with @crunchybite writing: ‘This is so smart! I’ve never seen it before, so I’ll go around testing them in case.’ Similarly, @taracheshire5 posted: ‘How clever, I’m checking the next bus I go on.’
While @sophiaonpawzz commented: ‘How did I not know this?!’ And @shenelson04 added: ‘My jaw dropped.’
The seats are also inspiring people to start taking the bus when they go out, as @ari199103 claimed: ‘Need to go on a bus now just to try it.’
While you might not be able to give this transport hack a go in London, it turns out there is one advantage to travelling around the capital.
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The city’s best-kept secret is that it still has trams in certain neighbourhoods, with four boroughs still using them.
The history of trams goes back more than 200 years when they were the most cutting-edge transport available – before they almost became extinct as petrol-fueled vehicles took over.
The mysterious London tram still exists – in south London. It was brought back to life in May 2000 when the Croydon Tramlink system re-launched them on behalf of the TfL.
But the 21st century version is far shorter than the trams of the heyday.
Four London Boroughs can boast about the fact they still have a tram connection – Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Bromley.
It now has two lines through four boroughs connecting Wimbledon, West Croydon, East Croydon, Beckenham and Elmers End among others.
A spokesperson for the TfL told Metro.co.uk: ‘We do not currently have any plans to extend the London Trams network but have started the procurement process to replace the older trams we operate, which are nearing the end of their design life.
‘The award of any contract to design and build the new trams is subject to securing a suitable funding package with an aim for the new rolling stock to come into service in the 2030s.’
And if you’re taking public transport elsewhere in London, you’ll want to try and avoid buses in Hillingdon where possible as it was recently crowned the most congested area in Greater London.
A whopping 1.44 billion vehicle miles were travelled on the roads in the west London borough – home to Heathrow Airport and a gateway to the M40.
Hillingdon also claimed the top stop for most traffic in 2019 and 2022, Department for Transport data shows.
The runner-up is Havering bordering Essex where drivers racked up 1.12 billion miles in 2023. The M25 goes through the borough which is located only some miles from the busy Dartford Crossing.
Descartes, a logistics expert in the UK, said it was ‘no surprise’ to see high traffic volumes in boroughs like Hillingdon as London remains ‘the most congested city globally.’
The latest figures reveal that all but two London boroughs (Enfield and Sutton) have seen a decrease in traffic compared to pre-coronavirus levels in 2019, Descartes said.
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