What kind of precautions do you suggest when traveling with an old desktop on a Bus/Metro etc., ? They are heavy and folks are in rush, so in a crowd, on escalators etc., this might lead to accidents.

Well I suggest you don't plug it in as there may be stray wireless connections it could automaticall connect to! And you may electrocute someone.

Well, I meant only for transportation safety. Not for use during transportation.

There can be legal issues with exposing others to your devices, and exposing your devices to public transport. Check your local codes and rules.

Best Practices for machines that have value, from a pure technical standpoint:
Prep it by disengaging every removable device, and making certain that any parts or devices not easily removed are very secure.
Wrap in a poly bag for protection from environmental factors such as dust, moisture, bugs, etc.
Also bag any lose parts or devices that need to be included or transported with the machine. Use anti-static bags for those with exposed circuitry.
Wrap each of these bagged items in small bubble wrap, secured with good strong packing tape or velcro straps.
Wrap each the other way in large bubble wrap, secured.
Fit the resulting packages into a single box (by preference with handles) made of (at least) high load double wall cardboard.
Use bubble wrap, air pillow, or poly "peanuts" where those are legal to eliminate air space. Wen you are done, you should be able to shake the box and not have ANYTHING inside move.
Custom fit poly or styro block cutouts can replace the large bubble, and make loading and fitting a LOT easier.

On unloading, save all of your materials for reloading another day. Check and secure all internal cards, connectors, and fittings before connecting external devices or adding power.

If you move machines often you learn when to save shipping material and special crates and boxes, and the entire thing becomes routine. You may even prepare a wheeled footlocker or equipment case for routine transport.

I have transported a pile of servers in the back of a van or POV, but only when I really did not care if only half of them arrived in working condition. Shipping or carrying on public transportation can involve shock, vibration, abrasion, environmental risk factors, and theft. Consider all of these when planning your transport, and try to use protections that will be inexpensive but adequate for your specific case.

If it does not matter if the machine arrives and works, you may be able to throw it on a luggage cart and strap it down and be done.

the same precautions you would take with any equally-sized and heavy object.
basically: don't drop it (onto anybody's foot, including your own).
be prepared for sudden braking.
etc.

Thanks for this very helpful post. This is a great reference.

Yes, see I carried this P4 server by hand. Bus braked fast and I lost grip,
dropped it soon on boarding the bus. This was a few years ago. Also, when I was going down the escalator, I had to sort of hold it so it doesn't fall down,
so was bending down and there were folks running past me down the escalator. If
any of them was not careful and bumped into me, I would have fallen badly. So, it seems best to avoid the rush hour and also try to have a buddy for such a task, if not try to reduce the weight of the device by removing some parts. Avoiding rush hours is also another good idea. Need to be specially careful during boarding and exiting the transport. Stairs also present a challenge, it is good to rest a bit if the stairs are too demanding. Keep some candy and increase blood sugar a bit before such a task.

Xwindows crashed just now, had to restart it. Was watching a youtube video at the time of the crash.

Best Light Weight Linux Distro:
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there's a certain type of extremely large and sturdy plastic bags with loooong handles, like this (other sizes available).
should be sufficient to carry a desktop + monitor + peripherals, comfortably slung over your shoulder.

Thanks this is very useful to know, I have seen these around, didn't know that they were this sturdy.

Today a contact told me I need to change with time, can't expect to time to change for me, turn clock backwards. Was told that in a few years as web gets more intense and resource demanding, slowly sites will stop working on this PC. Made me feel anti social and ostracized to some extent even. For now the major sites I need work, so this is ok.

What happened was an imgur site with some pictures didn't load on my PC, this started the convo.

Of course you have to change with time, but that doesn't mean you have to continually have the most up to date equipment - I certainly don't.

2 sheet metal screws and a cutting a old belt to make a carry handle is all I would do.

xwindows just crashed, even tho I had shut down my PC entire last night. Was watching a youtube video just now.