[samplatt]

>Depending on how crowded the tram/train is that 40 minutes can usable time with a smartphone or laptop, it's not in a car.

I have never been in any train or tram that has anywhere near enough room to use a laptop. In peak hours I try to even avoid using my phone - there's simply not enough room to have a raised hand near your face without the hand also being in someone else's face.

The long-distance trains (like the Quiet Carraiges to Geelong) have more room, and in Perth I could use a laptop for the first ~30min of my journey before the train filled up.

[flukus]

If you can get a seat you've got enough room for a laptop, back when I was doing a cross Melbourne commute a got a 10" one that was perfect for coding, watching movies or browsing the web. Getting a seat is the real challenge but if you can adjust your hours then getting on before 8AM or after 10AM you've got a good chance. Once your out of the CBD it's pretty rare to not have room to use your phone.

[friendlybus]

Personal space in Perth is much better than most places. The glut of replies you're getting is more representative of what people in general will put up with on public transport. There's some nice trains in Madrid's metro and england though if you go outside London.

[yoube]

That's horseshit. Granted, peak hour trains from Flinders are packed and using a laptop is a bit difficult since your elbows keep bumping into the next person sitting, but not being able to use a phone? People are always on their phones, reading, or knitting.

[reitzensteinm]

Yeah, I read the above comment with a four block to myself coming out of Flinders on the Blackburn line. Never? Come on.

[samplatt]

Not in my experience of peak hours, no, never. Certainly not within the CBD, where I'm based.

Outside of peak hours is an entirely different story.