Lessons in Subway Etiquette

Adam Vaccaro offers a few tips for subway riders to make the experience more pleasant, but not before saying that the problem with subways in the Boston area has less to do with the riders than the MBTA.

Victim blaming aside, Vaccaro says there is plenty that riders can do to make public transit more comfortable. Despite the earlier diss on the MBTA, Vaccaro is sharing news of a new video series from the transit agency encouraging good behavior on public transit (or maybe, discouraging bad behavior).

Videos warn riders to keep the noise down and refrain from littering at stations and on trains, blocking doors and aisles, and eating and drinking on the train.

According to Jodi R.R. Smith, a Marblehead-based etiquette consultant, who is quoted in the article, there's an art to confronting people about etiquette that all comes down to tone.

In the past, the MBTA has used GIFs to promote rider etiquette. Los Angeles Metro recently employed an anime-inspired campaign for similar purposes in 2017.