If you’ve ever taken the New York City subway, you know it can be crowded, dirty and when it come to getting a seat in a packed train car, it’s every man or woman for themselves. Very rarely do you see people give up their seats on the train to those who may be elderly, disabled or for women who are pregnant.
The MTA is hoping to solve these problems by giving out buttons that say either, “Baby on Board” or “Please offer me a seat” to let people know there are subway riders who need seats.
The MTA posted the new initiative to its website, saying, “While riders are required to relinquish seats in those areas under federal regulations and MTA rules of conduct, the new courtesy buttons can help riders better identify which customers need seats.”
For the most part, when you’re riding the subway, everyone is pretty much in their own world listening to music or reading a book. It is New York City after all, and people probably aren’t going to be paying attention to who is getting on the train and if they’re wearing a button or not.
It’s possible this new MTA initiative could have some benefits. It’ll be interesting to see how this would work during evening rush hour.
