Japan is famous for its modern and advanced railway systems, which can carry passengers over long distances in a short time. In Tokyo, with a population of about 35-39 million, the number of passengers traveling by train far exceeds that of other means of transport such as bicycles, buses and private vehicles. Therefore, trains are often overloaded, even though many trains operate day and night.
According to statistics, most electric trains in Tokyo run beyond capacity, even a few run at 200% over rated capacity to meet the travel needs of passengers. Although there are many trains operating day and night, cramming still happens quite often. And so a new profession was born to deal with overcrowding: Oshiya – or the pusher.
They are uniformed staff and are responsible for cramming more people into the carriages (if the guest still insists on boarding and the train is still packed with a few people). They are especially busy during peak hours.
When these pushers first appeared at Tokyo’s Shinjuku station, they were known as “passenger dispatchers”. This job attracts mainly students and part-time students.
The origin of the profession of pushing guests on the train
According to Amusing Planet, the profession of pushing passengers on a train actually originated in New York City, USA nearly a century ago. However, many people do not like staff pushing passengers because they push passengers quite violently.
In modern-day Japan, you might find the staff more “mild”, but sometimes they push themselves too hard and can make guests uncomfortable. Many people believe that this job forces employees to push rudely.
Currently pushing passengers has become obsolete because trains gradually apply automatic door technology, making cramming passengers impossible.
This work is slowly sinking into the past
Certain physical health requirements
Oshiya noted that it is necessary to use two hands to push guests, the pressure of pushing with two hands will be more balanced than pushing with one hand, both guests and Oshiya will not lose their balance and fall on the road.
Secondly, Oshiya can only push the customer’s shoulder, back or part of the biceps onto the train, absolutely avoiding touching sensitive parts of the customer’s body. And finally, Oshiya needs to keep his feet strong because it is the passengers waiting on the platform who can push Oshiya into the train.
After completing his mission, Oshiya will fly the flag and signal with lights to the ship’s engineers when the ship is ready and safe to leave the dock. The Oshiya will talk to guests in polite and formal language, and always wear white gloves during the task.
Although Oshiya are often known as pushers, they are also responsible for preventing further passengers from entering the cabin if the cabin is already full. They also help check if personal items such as bags are stuck in the door. More broadly, the Oshiya’s mission is to ensure smooth access for guests.
Trains “squeeze” to suffocating
More recently, in 2012, Hong Kong photographer Michael Wolf did a series of photos called Tokyo Compression, in which he captured the resigned expressions of train commuters as their faces were pressed against a window. .
These images show how terrible the condition inside the subway is. The bodies were pressed so tightly together that it was difficult to move. Getting off at the right station also takes a lot of effort and requires a lot of determination, when there is a serious problem, the evacuation is also troublesome and takes a long time.
The resigned face of the passenger
Although there are many negative aspects, it is undeniable that the “cramming” method has significantly increased the capacity of the subway in densely populated cities.
Inspired by Japan, in February 2017, the capital Madrid recruited “pushers” to serve the Spanish metro. It is known that because one of the routes is temporarily closed for maintenance work, the number of passengers on other routes has increased significantly.
Source: Synthesis
