respectfully...

At the Union Square station, the 4, 5, 6 platform was such that people’s stomachs were touching other people’s backs. It was rush hour, so, fair engouh – it’s always like that. Still, it got worse every second. I was waiting for the 6 train in particular, so when the 5 came I had no other emotion besides a vague hope that the station would clear out just a bit. No such luck, a certain amount of people crushed onto the 5, but just as many got out to wait for the 6. The platform was as it was except for the particular stomachs touching the particular backs. Some more time passed before the 6 train came and of course by that time, the platform was nearly unbearable, and getting on the train itself was an effort. Whenever this is the case, and it is usually somewhere between midtown and downtown Manhattan, where the subways are so, so packed – there are always a few tourists on the train that find the whole thing fun and charming. This time was no exception – some Brits, not holding on, and giggling each time they stumbled and knocked into someone. New Yorkers rolled their eyes. Also, usually, in this situation is the guy who is saying the things that everyone is kind of thinking: “Hey! Move in, there is plenty of space in the middle!” This time was no exception either. There is always plenty of space in the middle of the car because people like, or, would rather crowd around the door than move all the way in because they don’t want to get stuck in the middle of the car when it is their turn to get off. The guy trying to squeeze in and telling everyone to move in was a large guy with a deep, booming voice. The type of voice that is probably used to getting what it wants. He had a good sense of humor too. One woman, a type who was probably in her thirties but looked fifty, angry and with lines in her face, muttering to herself and shaking her head, called back, “Where do you want us to go? You want us to just push people?” Everyone else just pretended they heard neither person. The man, realizing he had found someone who was probably a bit emotionally fragile, kept repeating himself and pointing out spots where there was space. No-one moved, but the woman kept muttering and shaking her head with increased purpose. The man whispered into his girlfriend’s ear and pointed at the woman with his chin each time he was about to say something. The girlfriend made like she was embarrassed, but you could tell she thought the whole thing was funny.

Then,

The conductor came on the loudspeaker when we got to 23^rd street to let everyone know that they should not push, not crowd, not worry, because there is another train right behind this one. In fact, he said, people should consider not even getting on this train. Nobody listened, of course, and the announcement was made at each and every station (until 59^th street when the train emptied out to a reasonable riding capacity) with increased exasperation. Now, perhaps there was another train right behind this one. Perhaps people would have been better off waiting for that train – maybe everyone would have been overall more comfortable. But, why should it come to that? The problem isn’t really that people are so impatient and overzealous to get on the train. The problem is that they’ve been waiting for 10 minutes during rush hour and they don’t want to wait another 10 minutes. Why should we take it at its word that there is another train right behind this one? What does right behind mean? How do we know that train wont be just as crowded? Why should it be like that? Why not just send the trains out at regular intervals? I mean, Union Square is fairly early into the run of the 6 train - some 5 stops in. in those 5 stops, there are no connections to make – there were no trains ahead of this one delaying it (I know that because I waited for 10 minutes and no train passed). If the train is irregularly crowded it is because trains are not being sent out at regular intervals, not because people don’t know how to get on trains and are impatient. So, the next time you hear that announcement – not to crowd on to the trains and to wait for the next train that is right behind this one, think about why the situation came up in the first place. Think about the structure of the announcements and the ways in which they are structured to put people at fault for being impatient and somehow bad (and I would not blame the conductors for this – I realize that it is not as though they are writing and developing these announcements…). What these announcements should say is: “we fucked up again. There is another train right behind this one, and we are not telling this to you because we are proud of ourselves. We are totally aware of the fact that having a train right behind this one is reflective of our poor scheduling practices and might even be some sort of psychological experiment to pack you onto trains in a dehumanizing kind of way and see what happens. I must say, you have all comported yourselves wonderfully. Still, all things considered, and again, we are deeply apologetic about the fact that we’ve put you in this situation (you will be reimbursed at the exit, don’t worry. You will also be given chocolate.), the train behind this one is most likely less crowded than the one you are on. I am giving you my promise that the train is no more than one station behind this one. If you get off this train and have to wait more than sixty seconds for the next one to arrive, then you will get a free monthly metro-card. So, do as you please – you are, after all, the paying customer – but, just know that the option is there for you to take the train behind this one.”