I’m an enthusiast sailor and this is a terrible idea.
Sure that would be technically more correct, more tasteful, and less confusing. But some people may not know the words “port” and “starboard.” Frequent train users would become accustomed to it soon enough but you’ll always have some people from out of town whose first language is not English, and their limited vocabulary is more likely to include “left” and “right.” On a utilitarian basis we must weigh their needs in the equation when considering this problem. Then again there are also some people who can’t tell left from right either. We could paint one side of the train green and the other red, but then we might have a problem with the colourblind train users’ lobby. What’s really needed is 15 million dollars and a six-month user experience design study to decide on the best approach.
That’s not a terminology that most people understand, and would only confuse everyone more, matey. 🏴☠️
You don’t pull up to a port in a train, you pull up to a station. Stationboard doesnt work as well and wont be widely known.
I mean it’s not like ships pull up to a star, unless they are spaceships that is.
True. That’s a flaw with the english words.
Yet the exit would always be on the stationboard side (left or right). So you would never know which side of the train to exit.
It can be simply starboard and larboard.
Why?
Because it’s a (barely) established abbreviation for exactly those directions.
I think it would limit accessibility for people with limited knowledge about that, while you’d want to make the train as accessible as possible
“you are absolutely right.”
*you are absolutely starboard.
Fify
If you want to include logic in the matter, then yes; you are absolutely right.
But i do like nautical terms.Fair haha
How do you define abbreviation?
Maybe its the wrong english word but portside is shorter than “left in the direction of travel”.
Even more in my language.I don’t doubt they exist but I’ve never heard a train announcement use the “in the direction of travel” part. The ones I’ve been on either say left/right or even not say a direction but simply open the doors with lights flashing above it
Where I’m from, nothing announces the exits. There’s just a pair of doors opposite each other and you go out whatever one opens. I’ve never even thought about it before. Is there a reason it needs to be clarified on your trains?
I’m not sure. It has always been done like this here.
I think it’s just a convenience thing. Might be useful in crowded trains, so people know which doors they should not stand in front of.
It’s super important in Japan where jam packed trains are common during rush hours. They typically announce in Japanese and English, and may even have a visual displayed.
