Comments on: Camera- and flip seat-equipped train debuts on E

By: R179s set to be surveillance camera-ready :: Second Ave. Sagas

R179s set to be surveillance camera-ready :: Second Ave. Sagas — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:10:41 +0000

[...] MTA is currently running one train on the E line that’s equipped with an in-car camera surveillance system, but that car is just a part of a [...]

By: With agents axed, security measures under fire :: Second Ave. Sagas

With agents axed, security measures under fire :: Second Ave. Sagas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:02:14 +0000

[...] that the MTA just added closed-circuit cameras to their new R160s, this is a dismaying development. One of the reasons for this security problem [...]

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:27:49 +0000

However, we’re all well aware that the ones that do occur in the subway don’t exactly get help the from station agents.

Also, cameras don’t reduce crime. http://www.boingboing.net/2010.....-dont.html

By: herenthere

herenthere — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:44:50 +0000

Better handhold configuration? Maybe on the top, but like some have said, those vertical bars look way too far for an average person to grab a hold of when the seats are down.

By: mdh

mdh — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:38:02 +0000

LOL.

By: Daniel Howard

Daniel Howard — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:04:05 +0000

Hello,

So, are the decals warning of possible video surveillance posted in every car of the train set? The threat of possible video surveillance seemed to effectively end the window scratching on Chicago’s buses in the 1990s. The threat that you might be under surveillance seems like the greater crime deterrent than the actual law enforcement value of surveillance footage.

I think the threat of video surveillance is an excellent move to deter crime.

By: JP

JP — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:33:12 +0000

The handholds aren’t to address when there’s no breathing space and cars are over capacity- they’re for the rest of the time, when it’s not rush hour and there are no seats (which is often enough!) Good luck leaning over someone who’s sitting down to “hold a wall”. And with all the recent campaigning against sexual misconduct, you’re not honestly encouraging people to grab onto each other?

At least the L has rails running down the middle of the cars. Sure, Ben could hold onto a pole; but a whole lot of people can’t reach those, and huddle around the ones they can: the vertical poles, which this design lacks except for… oh look, there are two at every door again, and a floor-to-ceiling right between each set of doors. There may be more standing room but we’ll still be crowding the doors with this design.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:09:56 +0000

The hand-holds do look a bit odd. I wonder why they went with small rectangles.

But if this is really a pilot, hopefully they’ll be looking for feedback on stuff like this.

I had no problem with the rounded ones on the redbirds. They were also much larger, so if the train was really crowded, several people could share a single hand-hold – not ideal, but at least it gave them something to hold onto.

By: John

John — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:24:51 +0000

Aside from the flip-ups, my big concern is the hand-holds — they look like the ones the Board of Transportation put in 60 years ago on the R-10 through R-15 trains. They got rid of them and made the hand-holds more rounded in the mid-1950s through the end of the 60s because those rectangular grips were painful to hold onto while standing for long periods, since the corner angles don’t conform to a person’s hand.

On a train where using the hand-holds will not be an option if the seats are in the ‘up’ position and there’s no place to sit down, going back to a grip design that failed in the late 1940s is not a smart move on the MTA’s part.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:59:00 +0000

You may be right, but on the flip side, the presence of seats is one incentive to move into the middle of the car (even if they’re all occupied, you may be the lucky guy standing next to the seat that’s vacated at the next stop). Without that incentive, some people might not bother to move in.

We’ll see (when the seats are folded up).