Human nature
I got a train back from London this week. It was the 7pm, the last possible train on Thursday, and fares go up on Friday. I knew it would be busy but I had no option, and when I tried to reserve a ticket they were all gone. The last thing you want at the end of a hard trip is to stand for more than four hours, or try to get comfortable on the floor.
So I checked the board which showed a little availability in two coaches, and when the platform was announced I moved as fast as I could with two bags. The first carriage I tried had slow queues blocking the door, the second had no spaces, but in the third I saw a woman with books and food piled on the AVAILABLE seat beside her. I asked if I could take it and helped her put her bags up. A couple of minutes later we're both sitting there hoping nobody old and infirm will appear needing a seat, and it slowly dawns on me I'm in an extended legroom aisle seat in the quiet coach. Perfect.
Anyway the carriage fills up with people standing in the aisle and behind me, the vestibule fills up with people squatting on the floor. So this is shaping up to be the journey from hell. But the point of my story is: it wasn't. People were tired, people were grumpy, but everything stayed positive. Those in booked seats gave them up to the ticket holders without grumbling. Where bags were bumping those on the floor, others stepped in to rearrange them. One guy lost his wallet and somebody else found it for him. People helped others reach the bag racks and checked they were OK. Passengers in socket seats offered to charge mobile phones for those that couldn't reach. It was only afterwards I noticed how easy the journey had been - because there were no loud selfish nobbers in the carriage. Life could work that way eh.