Ah, am I lucky Budapest has controllers rather than ticket validation on entrance. (Something I discussed with poemless.)

smoking behind the seats to hide from the CCTV

Wow, they don't do that here, even though there is no CCTV at all.

Fellow passengers are often anything but fellows.

Funny, I just wanted to write a diary about that. I'll do it anyway, still tonight.

It is virtually impossible to convince them to make an extra step aside when you need to get out or get in.

Doesn't happen here. Or if it does, the violater is insulted so strongly s/he won't do it next time...

people gasping for air is clustered by the doors, while the middle parts of the bus are virtually empty?

Not here either. For the same reason: if people leave just a small space, new passengers will shout insults at those failing to move inside.

Public transport passengers are experts in ignoring each other.

How true. It happens that some rural people not 'aware' of this are on the bus, and talk at 'normal' volume, and everyone else feels like in a soap opera.

public transportation the way I experience it in East London doesn't have the most positive impact on the way I think about others.

Well... when some middle- or upper-class acquitance wonders about where poverty and misery is, or just claims that the state of affairs is rosy, my favourity retort is that they should step out of their cars and look at reality on public transport.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}