Singles Metro Car - Communication Breakdown?

Like many Prague expatriates, I heard the rumors last spring that the Metro was going to introduce special cars for single people. The news attracted press from around the world, and it sounded like an intriguing, if not somewhat bizarre idea. Some sources billed it as a “love train” for “lonely singles” and it sounded like one of those off-the-wall ideas that might be crazy enough to work in a city like Prague. Well, the love train left the station last November and as far as I can tell not so many people have noticed. I decided to do a little investigating and what I found definitely wasn’t what I expected.

I first heard they had started the “singles train” via a friend. She had heard a PA announcement while waiting for the Metro which gave the basic information. This special car is only in effect on Saturdays on the middle car of green line (A line) trains. Now that I knew where to be, I started thinking about what to expect. Would this special car be marked or different from the others in any way? Would there be seedy guys hanging around waiting for hot babes to hop aboard? Would people be too intimidated to take part? Should I wear cologne? Because of the hype, I really did expect something out of the ordinary to happen. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

I went into the Metro to look for people willing to engage in conversation, but not corner anyone who didn’t seem receptive. At the top of the escalator was a sign advertising the promotion. However, this sign said nothing about a “single’s car” but rather advertised a “komunikační vagon,” or “communication car.” The sign encouraged people to talk to their fellow riders about anything (such as hobbies, flat-sharing or travel) instead of being aimed solely at single people.

When I descended into the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station, there were no other signs or information regarding the conversation car. While waiting for the train, I glanced around the platform to see if anyone else was doing the same. It didn’t seem like it. The train arrived and I got on board, yet I still didn’t see anything around the car that mentioning the “komunikační vagon.” Besides the one solitary sign at the top of the stairs, there was nothing different about this Metro at all.

As I rode the Metro to Dejvická and back, scanning the passengers while trying not to seem creepy, it dawned on me how unapproachable most people in public here really are. I noticed two attractive younger women sitting separately, but they were both listening to iPods and didn’t seem especially receptive to chatting. In fact, almost everyone was isolated in their own world as people tend to do while in transit. I was probably the only person who even knew this was supposed to be the communication car! And considering the lack of signs or posters, it is easy to imagine why.

The following week I tried again, with similarly silent results. I didn’t find anyone even remotely conversational, and I didn’t observe any strangers in the car chatting each other up either. In speaking with a few Czechs some of them thought the idea was stupid to begin with. Why would anyone want to talk to people on the Metro, they asked? The opinion wasn’t terribly surprising. Czechs value their personal space and are not inclined to pay much attention to the people around them in public.

Perhaps that is precisely the reason the DPP decided to introduce this communication car in the first place: to get people to interact in public in a more positive way. In some countries, small talk and smiling at strangers are fairly common occurrences. While it is not unheard of to meet someone on public transportation, it seems most Czechs don’t even consider the possibility. Someone working for DPP must have realized that Czechs need encouragement to engage other people in public, which led to this project.

In an e-mail from DPP (Prague’s public transport administration) a spokeswoman responded that this is only a pilot project and is subject to change in the future. They decided to introduce the project gradually and didn’t want it to be too in-your-face. Perhaps this is why they decided to suggest other forms of communication instead of only trying to meet people for romance. DPP hopes that awareness will increase in the future as more people realize the conversation car exists.

I have mixed feelings about this promotion. On one hand, it makes sense that they don’t want Czech people to feel pressured to take part. On the other, it seems a shame to waste all of the publicity this program received last year. If DPP really wants to get people talking, they need to be more aggressive in getting people involved. That doesn’t mean the conversation car should have mood lighting, comfy sofas and Barry White playing in the background (although that would certainly get some attention!), but it does mean they may need to take steps to raise awareness of the project.

First of all, they need to isolate those people who are more willing to chat from those who want no part of it. This could be accomplished by more visuals outside and inside the car, or perhaps hiring some enthusiastic people to encourage more people to hop aboard. The conversation car should look and feel a bit different than the others. People will be more willing to talk if they are among others who are equally curious to meet someone. The one sign was written in Czech only, so they need alternate translations if they want more foreigners to get involved.

The conversation car is a unique and interesting idea. However, despite the initial buzz, this project has gone largely unnoticed for the three months it has been in effect. Without more clever promotion and marketing, it is quite likely that this once intriguing concept will become a dead end.

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