Oh Canada, how cute you are in your politeness.
Last night we took the Canada line downtown for
jedinic's birthday. The train was crowded. What didn't help was that there were some seats spare. But of course, Canadians being polite.. no-one would take them, since other people were standing. I've also seen this happen on buses. They'll be packed with people standing, but then there will still be empty seats.
It gets to a point where it's counter-productive. People can't get on because standing room is full.. but there's still seats.
Frustrating politeness.