Priority Seats in Hong Kong

Do you know that the priority seats were first introduced to Hong Kong in 2009 by the MTR Corporation through a seat offering campaign?

The idea of priority seats is to motivate people to offer seats to those in need (like elderly and pregnant women) on public transports. Since its introduction in the northern Europe, many countries and regions around the world start to follow. And Hong Kong is one of them.

Promoting a “barrier-free” society…It’s a good thing, isn’t it?

Not necessarily. The seats tend to cause controversies more than anything in Hong Kong. People started criticizing passengers who ignored the needy because they were busy playing with their smartphones; some said that Hongkongers lack civil spirit; while some misunderstood and thought that the priority seats are only for the needy.

This kind of stereotyping make young and healthy people the target of criticism: youngsters who are strong enough to stand for the whole journey should offer the seats to the needy, otherwise they would get morally criticized, and in worse cases, got cyberbullied for their “wrong doings”.

These lead to further debate, with people arguing that offering seats to the others is just a kind gesture, not an absolute rule, so no one should take it for granted. Some passengers admitted that while they belong to the “young and healthy” groups, it’s still normal for them to get tired and want a seat for themselves.

In my opinion, these kinds of disputes are, bluntly put, stupid.

So young people can’t be “needy”?

Do we have to public-shame everyone who doesn’t offer seats as long as they are not carrying crutches or wrapping themselves in bandages?

What about those who blame others for not offering seats, while they are just sitting there themselves?

Who is there to judge who needs the seats more?

If Hongkongers really are too selfish like some people suggested and are not ready with the idea of offering seats, then what is the point of having the priority seats?

The main question here doesn’t seem to be a mere “to sit or not to sit”, I believe…