Commuters rage over public transport faux pas that makes rush hour 'even more miserable' - so, are you GUILTY of it?
The habit, which some are calling the 'height of entitlement' and 'weird' is fuelling commuter rage and reigniting the debate over Tube etiquette in the capital and the way people travel on buses and trams in the rest of the country.
'Pole hogging' is the term given to passengers who lean their entire bodies against vertical poles, blocking others from holding on during busy rush-hour journeys.
Angry commuters have now taken to Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok to call them out.
One Londoner Jess Richardson, took to her TikTok @jessrichardson 9 to voice her frustration, saying it is her 'biggest pet peeve.'
She wrote: 'Please just hold it like a normal person so I don't have to touch you when I don't want to fall over.'
Meanwhile Alice, from London, took to X to share a picture of a woman 'pole hogging' saying: 'Pole hoggers are the worst.'
Elsewhere another person took to Reddit to share a snap of a woman leaning her body against the pole on a packed morning commute.
She wrote: 'Busy commute to work and this woman is leaning against the pole, on her phone, taking up as much room as possible preventing people from getting on the train while leaning on my hand the entire commute.
'She turned around and angrily stared at me like I was invading her personal space.
'The entitlement is simply incredible to witness.'
Many rushed to the comments in fury at the 'pole hogger', with several suggesting the commuter should have used her knuckles to subtly make things uncomfortable for the woman leaning against the pole.
One person said: 'Bend one finger so its knuckle points out beyond the rest of your hand.'
Another added: 'I'm not proud to admit I've knuckled people in the back on the DC metro.'
Someone else agreed: 'And turn your hand, so that your knuckles annoy the person so much that they move....'
Another added: 'Nah simple, just angle the hand a little so her spine is on your knuckles'.
Meanwhile there was another Reddit thread dedicated completely to 'Pole Hogs', where a Londoner asked for others personal experience with it.
The user wrote: 'Intrigued at how others feel about people who lean on the poles on tubes effectively stopping everyone else from being able to hold on when standing.
'Am I the only one who gets annoyed? Can you ask them to stand? Feels like really poor etiquette!'
Many flocked to the comments section once again, sharing their own frustrating experiences with the annoying habit, from battles over pole space to passive-aggressive tactics used to reclaim their grip during rush hour.
One person said: 'Wait for a jolt in the track, grab the pole, and then tent your hand so they slam into your knuckles when they try to recline again.'
Another added: 'A quick and polite 'oop! excuse me' as you get on is the way to deal with this.
'Some people – particularly tourists – don't even realise they're doing it or that it's not particularly good public transport etiquette.'
Someone else added: 'Just raise your voice and say 'SCUSE ME' and make sure you catch their eyes....and ears then just put your hand on the pole. I've had to do it a few times.'
A fourth added: 'I've had a few that would just lean with my hand there. It was weird.'
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