Public transportation and the right to eat while taking it...yes or no?

[PintoBean]

Do you remember the spaghetti subway brawl?

 

[missy]

Hi,

I lived in Brooklyn for the first 35 yrs of my life. I probably took either a bus or subway every day. We were not allowed to bring food on public transport. So I vote NO, NO , NO.

Now I live in the Chicago area and love to take the suburban trains because you sit in comfort and can drink your coffee and read the paper and relax. It is quite different than the over crowded subway in New York. Two different situations.

Annette

Annette you are so right. 2 completely different situations.

The trains in NYC are usually always crowded (much of the time wall to wall people) with barely any standing room left let alone seats available and the train stops short often (as I wrote before many conductors are heavy footed or perhaps it is just the mechanism of these older trains) and not only is it unpleasant but it is a safety hazard too.

And comparing it to suburban trains (the trains I think more people here may be familiar with) is not an analogous comparison. As I wrote before I would love it if some of the posters here who jumped and leaped to conclusions about my post would actually take the train during rush hour and non rush hour for a couple of weeks and see what they think then...

But in any case I have the unique viewpoint compared to some of those posters here (or should I say standpoint as that is what I am usually doing LOL) of riding the trains for a few decades (b/w Brooklyn and Manhattan) and seeing the transformation (and in the past few years especially) b/w clean and safe and pleasant and efficient to dirty, and less safe and very unpleasant and completely inefficient.

As for the people who have no time to eat because they are holding several jobs and taking care of their children what about the fact that the trains are often late and run poorly because of the trash (mainly food trash) on the tracks? If one is late to work on a regular basis I am thinking that could put one's job in jeopardy. I get paid per diem on an hourly basis as I suspect many in NYC do and when you are late you are penalized financially at the very least. If one is chronically late even if it is because of the NYC transit system not working properly because of delay after delay day after day I suspect it could hurt the security of one's job.

One memory that comes to mind just now are the few times I take the bus (I rarely do that as I much prefer the subway but sometimes the subways are not running due to track fires hello food or electrical disturbances or some other less common reason). On those few occasions I saw roaches on that bus in broad daylight. You can see why I don't like taking the bus LOL and ugh. If food was banned that would certainly be less of an issue. Roaches are disgusting and disease ridden and having food allowed does not help that situation.

Just another factor to keep in mind. Some here feel it is their right to eat on the NYC crowded public transportation. That is your prerogative and as I wrote before I doubt that will ever change. Just sharing my thoughts about why I think it would be a safer and more pleasant and more efficient system if food were not allowed. And for the record, I am not talking about something if one's blood sugar is dropping and they need a piece of candy or a bite of something to restore the blood sugar and/or other health concerns. I am talking about eating a McDonald's meal burger, fries and shake included or a pizza on the moving crowded subway car.

Thanks for sharing all your thoughts. I wasn't surprised with what many of you wrote and it is good to hear them elucidated here as to why. I am not unsympathetic to the plight of those who have little time to eat because of juggling work and family care but I still don't think eating on the NYC public subway system is a good idea.

 

[missy]

Do you remember the spaghetti subway brawl?

LOL I didn't and googled it and all I can say is oh my. And this is why people should keep their mouth shut.

 

[Jambalaya]

It's hard to imagine people standing nose-to-nose, packing in like sardines, and trying to eat a full McDonald's in that situation. When people are really eating a hot meal on the subway, I imagine them sitting down. I've never seen anyone trying to eat while packed in tight and standing.

I've read other discussions online about not eating on the subway, and others feel strongly against it too, but personally, it's not one of my bugbears.

People failing to mute their voices in public, on the other hand...don't get me started! I am SURE that 2-3 decades ago people were significantly quieter in public. I actually have earplugs in my purse at all ti-

No, no. I'm not going there.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi All,

Oh, those poor pathetic low income people who must be able to eat at all times-day or nite, crowded bus or subway, lest they feel a growling hunger pain before they get to one of the any millions of restaurants in New York city, that it seems they all can afford. What would some of you do if you didn't feel sorry for "those low income people:.

Somehow the poor people of yesteryear were able to not eat on the subway or bus.
Put signs up! . Of course If someone speaks up, then I'm sure one of you will say, they might knife you. You are truly patronizing of poor folks.

Annette

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

@smitcompton the only reason I ever brought up low income people is that they would be negatively impacted by being fined, not that anyone can't possibly wait to eat. All fining people does is increase a burden onto people who are already often struggling to pay for day to day living. All of these stupid tickets and fines, if left unpaid, turn in warrants. Then people are eventually arrested and jailed. All of this just makes everything worse. I see coworkers struggling daily to pay their rent, let alone when they get a summons for something so petty.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/opinion/sunday/is-it-a-crime-to-be-poor.html

http://www.ips-dc.org/the-poor-get-prison-the-alarming-spread-of-the-criminalization-of-poverty/

I'm sure you'll have some other degrading comment but this is what I believe, what I see everyday.

 

[monarch64]

It's so funny; those who've managed to climb out of poverty and live to tell about it seem to be the ones who are most verbal and begrudging about those who are still mired in the lower classes.

Nah, I take that back. It's not funny. It's sad, and it's blatantly obvious. What's the saying? You dislike in others what you dislike in yourself?

I suppose if forced to mix with folks of lower income and status, as an American, as I have my entire life,
I would............

Ohhhh, exactly. I'd find it within myself to have some ****ing compassion. Not bitch on luxury forums about how unfair it is that the working class gets to eat on the subway or gets to use my tax dollars to buy abalone or lobster or heaven forbid a soda or a cookie.

Roll over and show your other butt cheek for a change. Do you some good.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

It's so funny; those who've managed to climb out of poverty and live to tell about it seem to be the ones who are most verbal and begrudging about those who are still mired in the lower classes.

Nah, I take that back. It's not funny. It's sad, and it's blatantly obvious. What's the saying? You dislike in others what you dislike in yourself?

I suppose if forced to mix with folks of lower income and status, as an American, as I have my entire life,
I would............

Ohhhh, exactly. I'd find it within myself to have some ****ing compassion. Not bitch on luxury forums about how unfair it is that the working class gets to eat on the subway or gets to use my tax dollars to buy abalone or lobster or heaven forbid a soda or a cookie.

Roll over and show your other butt cheek for a change. Do you some good.

Don't hold back now Monarch, tell them how you really feel! See, stuff like this is why you're one of my favorites.

 

[CJ2008]

I don't know.

I feel like we all deserve a clean environment.

All of us. Rich, poor, and in between.

It's not the eating that's the problem - it's the not caring afterwards.

Those people who litter...why do they not care?

Is it a matter of inconvenience (e.g., not enough trash cans so you have to walk far to reach one, making you late, etc.) or is it something else?

And if it wasn't like this before, what was different before? (assuming eating was allowed then too) More trains/more often (better schedules)? What's changed? Are people struggling more?

I can see how maybe banning the eating is putting a band-aid on what the real issue is. And how it could create other problems.

But there is a problem, if what missy is describing is accurate...so what are some potential solutions? More cleaning crews, more cleaning more often? Maybe the city is being shortsighted not wanting to spend more money cleaning but they're not seeing the problems it's causing.

I could understand how someone (in this case Missy) who has been riding the train for decades has seen it deteriorate and become dirty and more inefficient would feel very strongly about it because I'm sure if you love your city you'd hate to see it in decline in any way. And banning eating would be the "logical" feeling I think.

ETA: not banning eating and ignoring the issue doesn't seem right to me...something needs to be done.
ETA2: banning eating may not be the answer, but not banning eating and ignoring the issue doesn't seem right to me...something needs to be done.

 

[missy]

Well what is sad is that another thread has deteriorated because of some perceived "slight" against a group of people. Listen I cannot speak to everyone's motives but I get and agree with Annette and some of you can twist it into anything you want and that is fine. It is a free country and go ahead. But I agree with Annette and all those who voted No to eating/Yes to food ban and believe it or not, I and probably most everyone else here have nothing against the underprivileged or poor.

It is not a poor or rich issue or a privileged or underprivileged issue. It is simply a question of is it your right to eat on public transportation hence making not as clean as before. Period. It is also a gross environment in which to eat (crowded subway cars) but hey that is for the individual eating to decide.

However when it starts making the train unpleasant for many others that is when I say hey what is going on here. Why is it a poor/underprivleged vs rich/privileged issue LOLOL. It isn't. But go ahead twist it as you see fit but I am not going to agree with you that this is at the heart of the matter. At the heart of the matter as I see it is it the right of a few to make conditions unpleasant for the masses.

Oh and bad Washington DC because they are being so grossly unfair to the poor.

And Asscherhalo_lover, if one doesn't want to pay fines one shouldn't break the laws...just saying that is one novel solution.

 

[missy]

Just for the record IMO the reason food and hot liquids should be banned is for safety reasons most importantly but also for a cleaner environment. Aren't we all for a cleaner environment? How is this harming the poor?

And FYI Here is the rule from the Washington DC Metro system:

No eating, drinking or smoking because of “the labor and cost associated with maintaining the cleanliness of the transportation system as well as for safety reasons.”

 

[missy]

Monarch64, quick question since you feel strongly about this issue as well. Do you ride a crowded city subway system every day for work? Just curious since some of you are so quick to rush to judgment about others and judge them harshly because of their thoughts on this issue.

The reason I ask is because I have much compassion for many people and this is not an issue that proves one is lacking compassion if one believes eating and drinking on the subway is not a good idea. Yet you and others condemn and harshly judge those of us who are against eating on the subways stating we lack compassion. I don't lack compassion.

 

[CJ2008]

I was thinking about this this morning and realized I did not put this in my original post because I was forming my thoughts.

Maybe the lack of caring is simply a lack of education. A lack of understanding what the consequences are.

The people who litter are not making a connection that it is a big deal if they throw their wrapper on the floor or on the tracks or wherever. Maybe they think what's the big deal everyone does it.

Maybe the city needs to run a campaign showing in simple words or pictures the domino effect garbage has on the system. Cleanliness, trains running late, etc.

The city has to care. The city has to want to do something about it enough to study the issue and come up with potential solutions.

ETA: oh. And no matter what, they will ALWAYS be those who really don't care, even when they understand the consequences. Rich or poor, some people are just idiots and don't care about anything other than what they want to do. In those situations I can't see any other solutions other than a fee or a fine. It doesn't have to be huge fee - but I think it sends the message that there are consequences when you do things that are not OK to do (litter). But it only works IF it is enforced, and it may just be too expensive and not a good use of police time. Not sure. But - perhaps more police down there is necessary for more reasons than just garbage.

I feel like there are more questions than answers.

The city has to care enough and see it as a problem to figure out some solutions.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I am a big fan of tying an appropriate consequence to something. So if they did end up doing a ban, issue an infraction or warning the first time and then for a second and subsequent offenses, community service cleaning the train cars on Subway.

It's obvious that some people are not taught to value someone else's property from an early age (rich or poor) so then the warning would be the wake up call and then if you still aren't on board after that maybe some elbow grease will get it through to them.

 

[Calliecake]

Has everyone been on a NY subway? There is literally no room. People are sandwiched in the cars like sardines with people standing in front of them. There is no room and it's inconsiderate to eat when you are in such a confined space. Everyone is being jostled around. Granted I have only been on a NY subway a handful of times but it didn't matter what time of day, the were extremely crowded. It's easy to see how someone sitting next to you or standing in front of you could end up getting hot coffee, cold drink or whatever you are eating all over them. In my opinion it's being considerate to those around you to not eat on the subway. This thread sure took an ugly turn quickly.

 

[Jambalaya]

I've been on crowded subways a lot when I lived in a major city, and when people were standing up packed in like sardines, no one tried to eat or drink hot liquids in those circumstances. People were using their hands to hang on to various bits of the subway car so they didn't fall over. When people ate, it was in a less crowded car sitting down. And I didn't see many people having an actual meal on the subway, anyway.

For me, it's not a rich/poor issue, it's about not wanting to live in a police state. In Singapore there are severe consequences for littering. In Switzerland men can't walk down the street in a lakeside town on a hot summer day without a shirt, and you can't mow your lawn on a Sunday. It depends on what level of government control you're comfortable with monitoring your every micro-movement, and for me that tolerance is very low.

Even if eating on the subway is banned, people will still litter. Do you want to be a police state like Singapore? Living in a truly free country requires some tolerance to bad behavior. In a free country, some people behave badly sometimes because they are free to do so. We could make everyone scared by imposing severe consequences for littering, but I doubt anyone wants to live like that.

 

[t-c]

In NYC rich and poor share the limited resources. If you take a poll during rush commute, you'll find millionaires, paupers, and in between, riding the subway together (maybe not hedge fund billionaires).

There are a lot of issues with the subway, one of which is that it's funding comes from Albany, and those folks don't ride the subway. NYC provides a lot of tax dollars to state coffers, but a lot of that money gets spent elsewhere. It's only now, when trains are derailing, that they realize how bad the situation has become.

For those who have not ridden the NYC subway, check out the loop on the first link. This is a good day (the overcrowding was worse before the 2nd Ave line was opened). This loop shows the very front car of the uptown train, which is much less crowded than the middle cars.
Every New York City Subway Line Is Getting Worse. Here’s Why.
M.T.A. Reconsidering an Age-Old Tradition: Eating on the Subway
Subway Delays and the Power of Shame

I think a reminder at every stop to 'take your trash with you and dispose of it in the bin' will help. But that would require speakers that transmit intelligibly. When there's an emergency, very often we can't understand the announcements from the conductor because of static and noise.

 

[marcy]

I voted yes. I have never been to NYC or on their subways but if they are as crowded as I imagine then IMO eating in such crowded situations is not something I would do or enjoy having the person right next to me doing.

 

[lilmosun]

Eating doesn't bother me as long as they aren't getting it all over me and clean up their mess. Maybe because I suffer from blood sugar drops and always carry snacks on me in case I get stuck in a situation where I need to eat.

People who litter and aren't considerate of others around them do bother me. But the latter encompasses a wider range of behaviors that banning eating won't solve.

 

[Arcadian]

@missy, I don't think you can totally compare NY to DC, they might be horses but they are of a different color. Ridership is much higher in NY more hours of the day and night.

Hopefully I'm not being an ******* about it, but I believe they (NY) should make more effort to enforce whats already on the books before adding one more not to be enforced feel good law. NY is already a nanny state in more ways than one.

Say they do make this a law, that means they will have to have a show of force to enforce it. Good luck with that one considering the cops already talk about being spread too thin. If they enforce litter laws, and ticket HEAVILY for those on the books, they may get halfway to the mark before having to do this. a new law like this means millions of dollars spent on signage ads, etc.

and FWIW, I've eaten on DC transportation. Its not like it was a burger or anything smelly...lol its all in how you do it.

 

[Jambalaya]

I think this is also an issue of control. Above, someone said they would not enjoy having someone eat next to them. This is a free country and you simply can't control what people do when next to you, in the context of a harmless activity like eating. I think very few people eat a McDonald's meal on the subway. Mostly it's a pretzel or a sandwich, and the fact remains that the vast majority of passengers are not eating on the subway. Are we really so intolerant of others and so control-crazed that we're upset about somebody eating a snack on the subway? Are there really not bigger things to worry about?

 

[whitewave]

Is there not a law against littering? How is that working out?

 

[smitcompton]

Hi.

My last comment on this. In real estate one of the first rules you learn, is that dirt attracts more dirt. In hotels, if you remember back, or office buildings when they had hanging ashtrays in front of the elevator, that sometimes people dropped a mess of things in there-coffee cups, tissues and of course cigarette packs. The staff is always told to look at the common areas for that kind of dirt. Clean it UP. Mayor Guiliani understood that principle, and when graffiti occurs you get rid of it right away.

I doubt anyone cares if you have a candy bar. Just put the wrapper in your purse and take it home.

People do lots of things without fines. No smoking in elevators. In my day in NY there were signs at each station that said Do not SPIT. I'd look at that each day and wonder who used to spit in the subway. I never saw anyone spit. People also never smoked on buses or trains, when most everyone smoked. I have friends in NY that never take the subway anymore. A chartered bus comes to points in their neighborhood to take them into Manhatten.

Dirt, garbage attracts the same. If it looks clean, it has a greater chance of staying clean.

AAnnette

 

[t-c]

Hi.

My last comment on this. In real estate one of the first rules you learn, is that dirt attracts more dirt. In hotels, if you remember back, or office buildings when they had hanging ashtrays in front of the elevator, that sometimes people dropped a mess of things in there-coffee cups, tissues and of course cigarette packs. The staff is always told to look at the common areas for that kind of dirt. Clean it UP. Mayor Guiliani understood that principle, and when graffiti occurs you get rid of it right away.

I doubt anyone cares if you have a candy bar. Just put the wrapper in your purse and take it home.

People do lots of things without fines. No smoking in elevators. In my day in NY there were signs at each station that said Do not SPIT. I'd look at that each day and wonder who used to spit in the subway. I never saw anyone spit. People also never smoked on buses or trains, when most everyone smoked. I have friends in NY that never take the subway anymore. A chartered bus comes to points in their neighborhood to take them into Manhatten.

Dirt, garbage attracts the same. If it looks clean, it has a greater chance of staying clean.

AAnnette

Yes. This kind of policing ("broken windows") was de-emphasized by the current mayor. It has also resulted in a noticeable increase in homeless people on the street and living in subway stations. I had to ask the agent in the kiosk to call 911 a few times because we found someone on the ground unresponsive (turned out just drunk) and a couple of times the station was obviously being used as a bathroom. I eventually decided to change my routine because using that station was starting to feel unsafe.

 

[Benjamin Johnson]

One morning I was heading to my college> I take a subway train daily, and it is always jam packed. This lady enters the train carrying a hot coffee. I kept praying please don't spill it, but unfortunately she lost her balance and spilled all over me and two other co-passengers. Damn I felt like punching her right across her face.

 

[missy]

Yes. This kind of policing ("broken windows") was de-emphasized by the current mayor. It has also resulted in a noticeable increase in homeless people on the street and living in subway stations. I had to ask the agent in the kiosk to call 911 a few times because we found someone on the ground unresponsive (turned out just drunk) and a couple of times the station was obviously being used as a bathroom. I eventually decided to change my routine because using that station was starting to feel unsafe.

Hi.

My last comment on this. In real estate one of the first rules you learn, is that dirt attracts more dirt. In hotels, if you remember back, or office buildings when they had hanging ashtrays in front of the elevator, that sometimes people dropped a mess of things in there-coffee cups, tissues and of course cigarette packs. The staff is always told to look at the common areas for that kind of dirt. Clean it UP. Mayor Guiliani understood that principle, and when graffiti occurs you get rid of it right away.

I doubt anyone cares if you have a candy bar. Just put the wrapper in your purse and take it home.

People do lots of things without fines. No smoking in elevators. In my day in NY there were signs at each station that said Do not SPIT. I'd look at that each day and wonder who used to spit in the subway. I never saw anyone spit. People also never smoked on buses or trains, when most everyone smoked. I have friends in NY that never take the subway anymore. A chartered bus comes to points in their neighborhood to take them into Manhatten.

Dirt, garbage attracts the same. If it looks clean, it has a greater chance of staying clean.

AAnnette

Exactly. The trains feel so much more unsafe than ever before (in my time traveling on them) and just as Annette said-no one cares if you take out a candy bar or something unobtrusive and easy and not messy (low blood sugar is not something to play around with and of course I am not against eating to maintain one's blood sugar) to eat but I am talking about more major meals and hot liquids. And for those of you who expressed disbelief yes there are people eating whole meals on the train i.e. McDonalds with fries and shake, pizza etc. Not kidding.

As t-c has pointed out there is definitely a degradation in the quality of life in NYC. The trains are dirtier and less safe and our current NYC mayor is blind to this issue because of his own political agenda.

LOLOLOL what a huge hypocrite de Blasio is...
http://www.pressreader.com/usa/new-york-post/20170724/281560880857271

Mayor de Blasio ventured into the city’s decrepit subway system on Sunday — but didn’t have to face the foul-smelling and often crazy vagrants that ordinary New Yorkers are forced to contend with every day.
That’s because police were ordered to roust all homeless people from the mayor’s two planned stops in preparation for his F-train ride from his Park Slope gym to his new re-election headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
Cops had until 11 a.m. to prepare the Fourth Avenue-Ninth Street and Jay Street-MetroTech F-train stations for the mayor’s brief, underground publicity stunt, sources said.
One source characterized the directive — contained in an e-mail from the NYPD’s Transit Bureau — as instructing cops to “make sure nobody’s hanging out” so that the stations “looked nice.”
Another source said the mayor’s office notified police brass of his schedule “with the expectation that the subway stations would be free and clear of homeless people.”
“It’s too bad he’s only interested when he’s going to get on the subway,” the source said.
“I wish he had the same attention to detail when he wasn’t on the subway. Too bad he doesn’t care about quality of life for all passengers and not just himself.”
A newsstand manager in the Jay Street-MetroTech station was shocked by the absence of derelicts on the uptown A, C and F platform surrounding his kiosk.
“I see a lot of homeless people in a week — up to 25. On average, five a day. Today, I have seen only one,” Ali Imtiaz said.
“I was asking my colleague today why we don’t see any homeless.”
Imtiaz also said he spotted a group of cops — “more than four of them” — stroll past his stand at around 10 a.m.
“It’s good for everybody that they clear out the homeless,” he said. “This should be continued. This is a very busy subway.”
De Blasio’s presumptive Republican challenger, Staten Island Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, blasted the crackdown.
“For someone who claims to care about the most poor New Yorkers, to have someone clear his path when he’s about to board the subway. . . tells you all you need to know about Mayor de Blasio,” she said.
“These are fellow New Yorkers who are sleeping in the street, sleeping in the subway. The mayor just doesn’t care.”
Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign advocacy group, also blasted the move.
“The optics are terrible,” he said. “It looks like they don’t want them to intrude on a movie set.”
A City Hall spokesman denied that any homeless people had been kicked out of the stations.
“These sources are refusing to provide their names because what they are saying is not true,” the spokesman said.
And de Blasio press secretary Eric Phillips noted that “the mayor had a few-minute chat with a homeless person” upon emerging from the subway.
It was not clear whether the man, who complained to Hizzoner over conditions in the city’s shelters, had been booted from the station.
De Blasio’s F-train foray came as he has been locked in an escalating feud with Gov. Cuomo over funding for the crumbling mass transit system.
Following a trip in a motorcade of SUVs from Gracie Mansion for a workout at the Prospect Park YMCA, the mayor used a MetroCard to swipe himself and First Lady Chirlane McCray through a turnstile at the Fourth Avenue-Ninth Street station.
Once aboard, Hizzoner — accompanied by a pack of journalists — launched into a diatribe against Cuomo and MTA Chairman Joe Lhota, who last week blamed de Blasio for refusing to spend the city’s $4 billion-plus budget surplus to fix the subways.
“Here’s the truth: They’re not even spending their capital budget,” the mayor said. “There’s a huge amount of money sitting there, including the money the city gave. We gave them $2.5 billion a couple of years ago. Almost 90 percent of that money is just sitting there.”
De Blasio vowed not to allocate any more funds, saying the state “has used the MTA as a piggy bank” by taking “almost half a billion dollars in money out of the MTA to use for the state budget.
“The governor and Chairman Lhota simply need to get in front of everyone [and] say, ‘We’re fully responsible, we have to fix the problem.’ They have the resources.”
Lhota called the mayor’s remarks “completely disingenuous” given the planned release of the chairman’s “30-day overhaul plan” for the subways this week.
“What we need is leadership, not photo ops,” Lhota said.
Cuomo’s office didn’t return a request for comment.

 

[junebug17]

I voted yes, I would want to travel in clean surroundings with no trash delays. I don't think that is an unreasonable desire or makes me an elitist who doesn't care about people. Littering is very harmful to the environment and I am surprised by those people in this thread who aren't concerned at all about that.

 

[blackprophet]

I voted No.

I've eaten full meals on the train, in packed rush hour trains. I've seen others do it as well. Its ok with me as long as people throw out their trash. I assume people who are eating on the train have a reason for it. (some of those reasons have been outlined in this thread)

I'm not in NYC but our subways (Toronto) are rammed a lot of the time too. Eating is not banned, but our system is pretty clean, imo. I think the effort put towards keeping a clean system matter as much, if not more, than people cleaning up themselves. However I do think its riders responsibility to keep the system clean as well. And our system spends a considerable amount on marketing to that end. I work closely with the company that I work at (city government, not transit) waste management folks, and its been proven time and again even if you had everyone wanting and trying to do the right thing, if you don't have enough proper bins with proper signage, you will have a litter problem, bottom line. It makes a huge difference. To keep bins in our subway system, they have just a ring and a bag, no container, and I think we have more now than when I was younger. Works well for us. You can see them here:


A little understanding and respect needs to go both ways. For those who only chance to eat is on the subway from those who are bothered by it. And by those who need to put their trash in the right place, and gauge the fullness of the train and eat something correspondingly appropriately, to keep the system clean for everyone and not cause undo delays for others. And for the operator to have enough bins and keep up a regular cleaning schedule.

One note I would add is that, the 'trash on track' delay could very well be a 'person jumped in front of a train' delay. Our system gets one jumper a day (on average) apparently, so I would assume that the NY system sees similar numbers. What they tell you, may not be the truth, because they very rarely report jumpers to the people on the actual train. They use various other excuses in those cases.

Now I'm not saying that jumpers are the cause of your current stress. I say it because whenever I ride the train I always wonder if what they say the delay is, is actually the real reason.

 

[PintoBean]

They should never have cut back on the cleaners in NYC. Like people have mentioned, when an environment has garbage everywhere it starts looking like the whole station is one big garbage can go ahead and litter (yes it makes no sense but human nature). I remember marveling at Guiliani's NYC. Holy clean upgrade!

If someone falls onto a track, roll up a newspaper and start flagging from the platform by waving your arm and newspaper across the track in a controlled motion walking towards the end where the train would enter. The conductor will see you flagging and slow down. Never jump down to rescue bc you could also end up being victim #2.

 

[monarch64]

Missy, I don't ride the MTA subway to commute, so obviously I don't have the right to an opinion. I'm bowing out of this conversation. Shouldn't have stuck my head in in the first place, but for lack of recent entertainment here I felt it was a good idea in the moment for me to express myself. I had other interests--to be transparent, I saw a shit-stirring thread and decided to participate and be the voic of dissent. My mistake. Where is Kenny???