Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Will These New MTA Posters Help Stop Bad Subway Etiquette?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 23, 2014
Modified Dec 23, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 23, 2014
Modified Dec 23, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
(From Gothamist's Subway Etiquette Archival Photos)
In October, we asked the MTA if they would ever consider a subway etiquette campaign. After all, there used to be posters on the trains calling out poor behavior like door blocking and seat hogging—if we had them in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, why not now?
At the time we were told by spokesperson Adam Lisberg that it probably wouldn't effect change—"You can go back in history and see old examples of etiquette posters here and elsewhere. People literally never learn. If systems all over the world have been trying and failing to curb bad behavior for decades, why do we think we would suddenly discover the magic bullet to get people to change?" Well, they decided to give it a shot anyway—a month later the MTA announced a subway etiquette campaign which would target a few of the more offensive behaviors, like manspreading, and this week they've revealed some of the artwork that's going to shame shame shame these bad mannered subway riders.
Their "Courtesy Counts" campaign (full name: "Courtesy Counts, Manners Make a Better Ride") will urge customers to please:
• “Step Aside to Let Others Off First”
• “Keep Your Stuff to Yourself”
• “Take Your Pack Off Your Back”
• “Offer Your Seat to an Elderly, Disabled, or Pregnant Person”
• “Take Your Litter Off With You”
• “Keep the Sound Down”
• “Pole Are For Your Safety, Not Your Latest Routine”
• “Clipping? Primping?”
• “Don’t be a Pole Hog”
• “It’s a Subway Car Not a Dining Car”
• “Blocking Doors”
• “Dude…..Stop the Spread, Please”
The messages will be delivered via 46-inch or 72-inch placards, which will be installed on 2,600 subway cars starting in January. They also plan to add subway car announcements to the campaign, and roll out "additional campaigns for buses and both the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad." Maybe they should also show our educational film about manspreading:
Tagged
courtesy counts
etiquette
MTA
subway
subway etiquette
original
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
What do you see when you record the whole of the boroughs?
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 5, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
It's a busy month at the branches.
By
Alec Hamilton
Arts & Entertainment
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
It's a busy month at the branches.
By
Alec Hamilton
NYC music in October: The Strokes, a Blink-182 cover band, and Polish experimentalism
By
Hank Shteamer
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
By
Hannah Frishberg
In the mood for a pastoral autumn experience? Try Queens.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .