"The coffee-drinking habits of millions of New York City subway riders hangs in limbo this morning, as the MTA prepares to vote on a series of new rules for straphangers.
Board members are set to vote today at 9:30 a.m. at MTA headquarters in midtown.
In addition to the proposed ban on drinking coffee in subway cars, the MTA will vote on whether to allow commuters to walk between cars while the subway train is moving, and whether to penalize riders who put their feet on the seats, or straddle bicycles.
If the new rules are adopted, offenders will be slapped with steep fines, and that morning cup-of-Joe could end up costing $75, instead of $1.25. The same fine would apply to “car surfers.”
Opponents argue the rules are not only impractical, but will also be tough to enforce.
The rules require full board approval, and if they pass will go into effect by this Saturday, Oct. 1, according to published reports."
From my experience, it’s rare to see coffee drinkers. More often it’s soda drinkers, and considering the class of people who use the subway, they leave the not quite empty bottle/can/cup on the floor creating a gooey mess, along with McD paper wrappers, etc. Preventing movement between cars? That’ll be the day. On some lines (the IND for example), the doors are locked.
According to a TV news report last night, the M.T.A. passed the new rules so the fines take effect tomorrow. The full set of rules are posted at http://www.mta.info/nyct/rules/rules.htm.
Note that the M.T.A. still allows photography. See Section 1050.9 Restricted areas and activities, subsection c.
Matter of perspective,I guess. With all the “hot coffee” litigation actually collecting damages these days , I suspect the board had to put some prohibition on the books, just for court posture the next time some slob sloshes coffee all over some attorney’s niece.
I noticed that although the ban is car wide, the article begins by singling out “strap hangers” and I have seen seated people get splashed pretty bad by straphangers drinking with one hand and holding the strap with the other. I think it’s a good call.
And as far as “car surfers” go,…well I’ll admit it’s just a personal issue, but I always found them annoying… I’ll admit I’m being entirely selfish, but they always make me wonder “What? can’t you sit still long enough to make the transit trip?” I always figure they are stalking somebody, (lol) like in the movies
I don’t recall having ever seen standee drinking coffee let alone spilling coffee. I’ve seen people drinking from paper bags, however. Far more dangerous and common is being stepped on by a high heel. A woman who had lost her balance stepped on my foot with the point of her heel and it was painful.
MTA ridership must have dropped a lot since the '70s. Almost every day, during the morning rush, the Lexington lines would be so jammed with people that the only way to board was to get on between the cars. Often there would be four people, 2 on each threshold (invariably men), riding between the cars. Other reasons for allowing passage are to move from cars with broken A/C or to escape smelly derelicts. In addition, and this may seem strange to non-New Yorkers, is that many passengers move to other cars to position themselves closer to a preferred exit when they arrive at their station. Finally, a rule barring passage would greatly inconvenience the panhandlers.[:D]