Got shmutz?
Monday, April 25th, 2005Days ago, the New York Times reported on a Straphangers Campaign study of the cleanliness of New York’s subway cars. The “shmutz” survey, as it’s called, was conducted on 2,200 cars between September and December 2004.
Cars are rated on the overall dirt present, an “Are the surfaces generally clean?” survey. Being a daily rider of the 1 train, I was not at all surprised to learn that my train came in last among the 22 subway lines surveyed.
Aside from bodily excretions, I suppose the more egregious pools to step in are the dried, sticky coffee that has transformed into a paste from the morning’s commute, when I imagine some poor soul’s cup spilling on a crowded train.
Of course, we’ve all been victim of the rolling bottle. As long as that bottle is pointed toward or away from the direction of travel, it remains stationary. But, once the train takes a turn, or if the bottle is pointing perpendicular to the direction, then it could roll clear across the car. If it rolls to your feet, you become the victim and your scruples are tested. Do you pick up the bottle to throw it away? Do you slide the bottle under your seat against the wall to prevent it from victimizing further? (A variation is to toss the bottle off the train at the next station.) Or, do you simply pretend nothing happened so as not to attract unwanted attention? In my experience, the first option never occurs and the second and third option have equal probability of occurring.
I would like to know when the stations will be surveyed???
