Sounds like you just have poor public transport. It doesn't have to be that way, and I've never experienced anything like it in Europe.

Yes,precisely. I found Vienna and Tokyo’s subway pretty immaculate. But London, Paris, Bilbao, Amsterdam all had some experiences similar to my other post. Much smaller sample so hard to say how frequently it occurs in any useful way.

Or maybe a dysfunctional society :(

5% is a staggering number! I rode the trains for four and a half years in NYC and just avoided the empty cars and never had too many issues.

Also people seem to focus exclusively on the negative interactions which is a very human thing to do, but this discounts the positive interactions.

It can be really nice seeing people offer their seats to the elderly, or kids meeting and playing, or the occasional furry companion in a cute bag.

But I enjoy people watching in general. It can be neat to try to imagine a persons world and how it looks.

I still think public transport is a net positive. But completely understand the allure of my own car. Or an Uber managed self driver where each rider rates the past.