Checking In On The Seatless Subway

I hope the concept works better in my hometown than in my adopted town. The Chicago Transit Authority planned to run similarly seatless 'L' cars here a couple of years ago...until it turned out that our oldest elevated tracks wouldn't be able to bear the weight of an extra 9 or 10 tons of standing customers per train. Hopefully that's been taken into account by NYC Transit. Right? ...Right?

That's a very MTA type plan: test the cars with flip-up seats, but lock the seats in the down position.

Beautiful.

If they allow passengers to raise and lower these seats on their own, there's really going to be brawls on the trains everyday. Can you imagine a train filled to capacity and one person refusing to stand up and flip the seat to allow more passengers?

People already don't move in to make room. Nothing new there.

And there are some seats that fold down on some trains. I've never seen it be a problem.

Absolutely! If they rely on MTA workers to flip the seats up and down, then you can forget about it.

On the other hand, if they rely on customers to stand up and flip the seat into the upright position, then ditto.

I mean right now, there are plenty of hoodlums who are reluctant to brings their legs together to allow the full quota of people to sit on those benches...are those guys really gonna volunteer to stand up to allow more people to fit in the train??

I can't imagine ANY passengers voluntarily standing up so they could raise the seats.

That's how the Metro in Paris is... every seat is in the up position until someone flips it down to sit. I've been on the Metro a hundred times and never seen a fight.

As a woman in mid-pregnancy (ie not totally obvious that I'm preggers) I would be really happy for some old-fashioned chivalry, even if a man is not sure whether or not I'm pregnant or fat.

Maybe I'm too traditional, but my opinion is that feminism killed some of the benefits of womanhood, including men giving up their seats. It's not about us being physically inferior, it's just polite. Women still get paid less than men, the least men could do us let us sit on the train.

Well, you would have a logic fail there. You are not traditional, just not so intelligent. But we can hope it's that damned pregnancy brain (feminism is not to blame there either). Feminism has nothing to do with the lack of chivalry men exhibit. You said it yourself--it's about politeness, good old fashioned common courtesy. In a world where people are entitled, it's hard to come by.

And I'm with spiritross, people cannot read your mind-- ever though about asking? Or is it more fun to be angry and complain? Most people would be concerned about offending you if they assumed you were impregnated and not just fat. You just cannot win.

*chivalrous

And I'm not even pregnant or breastfeeding. Just annoyed at stupidity.

Do you ever ask?

People can't read your mind.

You have to ask.

The reality is people are just in their bubble and don't notice such things - everyone does it even those that don't admit it.

Just ask.

They need to add this to the L so when the hipsters get off on the first few BK stops everyone can sit down again.

hipsters on the L train = automatic HILARITY

How about they finish the 2nd Avenue line to ease the crowding on the 4/5/6, stop burning money like it grows on trees, become fiscally responsible for the millions of people who ride MTA public transport daily.

In regards to seats: The only people who need seats are (in order) Handicapped, elder, women, children, injured persons. The rest can stand. So I'm for the new design.

I have was born and raised in this city and can count on my hands how many times I've sat on the subway or bus.

To the men who live in this city...GET OFF YOUR ASS. If there is a woman, child, elderly, or someone who just looks more tired than you do, get the f*@k up you lazy d0^ch@bag.

women?

what the fuck?!

so you've made women,children, and the handicapped equals in capacity.

you have secluded men from that group because i'm assuming you think men are more capable of standing up.

ask your wife if her preferences represent the rest of us.

no gentleman.

sexist dog.

To those who call me sexist and a dog, you are simply missing the point. For me, it's not about a gender inequality or that women are in any way inferior to men. In fact, I quite think the opposite. I was raised by a single mother and know first hand just how strong women are. So all of you who think I'm promoting sexist banter can kiss my white Irish ass.

I choose to give up my seat or hold a door because I appreciate women. It's something small I can do to be kind. I also hold doors for the elderly, children, handicapped, or anyone else. The catalyst for my post is that it pisses me when men keep their seat when there are elderly, women, children standing. I am old-fashioned in that way and I think it's something that MOST women appreciate. It's becoming a rare thing.

And to MsLioness, I asked my wife if she felt I had demeaned her or the female gender in my giving up a seat or holding a door and here is her reply. "I love the fact that you hold the door or give up your seat. I think that it is chivalrous and kind and it's one of the reason's I'm with you. I appreciate those old-fashion things and I know for a fact most women do also. Most of the women at work have commented on how they wish a man would hold a door for them after seeing you do it for me." So you too can kiss my white Irish ass.

I love women and think they are the superior sex. So instead of thinking of me as a sexist, think of it as a show of respect.

you really get up for every single woman? if we all did what you did, no man would ever sit down. i'm all for getting up for an elderly, pregnant, disabled, whatever but to get up for a perfectly healthy 20something year old woman seems a little excessive to me.

and i hold doors for anyone, regardless of gender. then i get pissed off when they don't say thank you.

Indeed I do, and it's true that I rarely if ever sit. No biggie to me. It's self rewarding to be kind in a time where it is so rare. And I agree, a thank you would be nice.

A vagina is not a handicap.

Even when fully loaded. That's why all the preggos gotta stand in this city.

i'm sorry...

by a vagina you meant?

Why the hate on this guy...I admit he's more gentlemanly than I, but why criticize him for being kind and offering his seat to people?

Hell, even if he DID think that being a woman was an inherent disability, at least he's offering his seat - don't look a gift-horse in the mouth.

If you are only interested in doing things nice things for women that's sexist. It's not being a gentleman it's perpetuating a sexist culture.

I give my seat up all the time. I hold the door open all the time for those coming in behind me. Gender NEVER has anything to do with it. The commenter literally bookended women with the handicapped and injured n his compendium of those in need. So when i say that extending nice actions to able bodied women goes hand in hand with a world view that sees them as weak and unable to make their way in the world without male assistance I speak without hesitation.

Well it may be "sexist", but at the end of the day, he's offering his seat to women, and women are the ones benefitting from this action, so why complain about it?

I mean I'm a white guy with dark brown hair. If someone out there had the misguided belief that brown-haired white guys were less capable of standing on a train than other people, and offered their seat to me, I wouldn't complain.

**remove the have from the last sentence in 2nd paragraph**

but you're not interested in removing the part where you think women are physically inferior to men. you are still standing by the implication that women are less capable of standing erect and that men that don't perpetuate the patriarchy you enjoy are douchebags?

It is in no way an implication that women are inferior in any capacity. By your reasoning, a man shouldn't open a door for a woman either lest it be interpreted that her arms don't function.

It is simply being a gentleman and quite obviously a concept you lack the capacity to grasp so take your implications and inferences elsewhere. My wife appreciates it, any woman I've open the door for appreciates it, and I'll continue to stand on the subway so that a woman can sit. I said what I meant.

I didn't know that women were less physically capable of standing. maybe you meant pregnant women.

It's called being a gentleman. I said what I meant.

What about the elderly and handicapped? Are there any disabled seating areas on these cars?

man those split poles are a great idea.

I agree!

Better if they had spikes that shot out of them if the felt someone leaning against it.

I have had the misfortune of riding on these cars a dozen or so times since about May and I cringe when they pull up. The seats are quite uncomfortable and downright silly.

That said, I do love the split poles and also appreciate the grab rail running down the center on the ceiling. Both of these features should be retrofitted to all of the subway cars.

Guess I'll be getting on the first and last few cars where the relatively more comfortable seats will, hopefully, remain.

Can't wait to see what's stuck to the bottom of those seats once they've been flipped up.

more room for the obese

The smartest design decision in these new trains is the ceiling grips that run nearly the length of the car. There's nothing worse than being in a crowded train and having to jostle your way to a pole or grip on the sides of the car or plant your hand on the grody ceiling.

it's worse if you're a petite lady like myself and have trouble reaching the ceiling pole.

for sure - the older trains don't have enough places for passengers to hold on to. the older C and E trains are the worst.

Who exactly is going to be responsible for moving these seats up and down? They are barely able to get conductors to walk to every car and change the roll signs properly.

I hate to say the MTA is doing something right, but this is a good idea. I'll happily stand as long as I can just get on the train. If you wait for the uptown 4/5 at Bowling Green in the morning you can routinely wait for four trains to come and go before you see a spot where you can fit.

The 4/5 needs these yesterday. Those trains are rountinely packed by the time they reach Franklin, especially in the fall.

Those split poles should be installed in every train.