Straphangers are reacting to an MTA board member’s surprising comments about backpacks on the subway.
Charles Moerdler suggested a backpack ban during a board meeting Monday, leading many to wonder how it would be possible to bring anything anywhere if you weren’t allowed to carry a bag.
He later backtracked and presented the more practical viewpoint that people are often disrespectful with the bags they carry onto trains.
“There is nothing obnoxious about a backpack. What is obnoxious about it is when the person on a train that comes to a sudden stop, or the person going on in the loading, and the person hits you in the kisser with it, that’s no fun. And if you are short, or you are elderly, you’re gonna have pain. And that’s unnecessary infliction of pain,” Moerdler said.
Riders we spoke with say they’re all for courtesy in the subway — but they better get to keep their backpacks.
“Certain people they don’t follow the etiquette, you know, so you’re getting banged, you’re getting hit all over the place. So I totally understand why,” said one subway rider.
“People go to work, gym, travel, you could also go to the airport on the train. So it makes sense to have a backpack,” said another subway rider.
“The thing I don’t like is, when they have their backpacks on the crowded train that’s the thing with me, you know. It’s crowded. Take your bookbag off,” noted a third rider.
The MTA plans to roll out a public awareness campaign next year urging riders to take their backpacks off while on the subway.
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