Capitalizing on its central symbol of the train, Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting is about making connections with other people, however random these connections may be. In an ironic contrast to the real-world etiquette that discourages strangers on a commuter train from making conversation (See: Background)—no matter how often they may see one another or share the same path—the novel shows that witnessing and validation are possible when people instead choose to share themselves with others, including their histories, their fears, and their heartbreaks. Authentic relationships grow from this shared contact over time, leading to essential support that people provide one another.

Iona’s success as an advice columnist defies another rule that prevails on the train: the dictum not to interfere, even when something is clearly wrong. This informal rule is illustrated when Iona cries on the train and strangers avoid her. Iona speaks freely on the train under the presumption that no one is listening or cares about the conversation of strangers—an assumption proved untrue on several different occasions, most vividly when a man approaches Iona to agree with her preference for pubic hair.

Her editor’s assumption that no one wants to listen to Iona’s outdated advice is also proven untrue.