Yustina Shenouda, Mohammed Mazhar, Michael Gershengorin

Grant

ENGL 21007

3/12/2020

A Rising Concern: The Situation with the NYC Transit System

NYC is bustling with people on the go, moving from place to place. Among cities, this one is renowned for its subway system–and not always in a good way. But transportation is among the very foundations of this city. Without it, most people would not be able to get to their jobs since 55% of New Yorkers don’t own cars (New Yorkers and their Cars). Most shops and businesses are located on busy streets, without a chance for parking vehicles, making this public travelling service essential. And yet, even with over half of the residents travelling daily through transportation, our subway system isn’t the safest or most reliable it needs to be and can be today. 

It isn’t news that underground, many homeless people are found sleeping on the stairs or sides of the passageways. Along with many others who don’t want to pay the fare, they hop the bars and ride the trains. This introduces another problem besides not paying–crime. The fact that this is a mass transportation system means it attracts offenders due to large settings (Gallison). With almost no security and large stations, it’s no surprise that this is an easy target for unlawful conduct.

The push for Safety: Recent Events

Recently, NYC had a man charged twice for murder and twice for attempted murder, stabbing to death innocent people on the A-line train (NBC). And the week right after, another man got brutally stabbed in the stomach late at night, for no apparent reason at all.

A total of 8 murders have been accounted for in just 1 year, along with assaults rising up to 27%. Robbery also comes in at a startling number–with nearly 600 recorded cases. And with 7 occurrences of rape in 2020 alone, why isn’t anything being done to address these problems?

An MTA poll in October 2020 says only 42% of riders felt safe riding the trains–a 25% decrease from the previous year’s polls (Gelinas).  But with the subway system being in constant use and demand, why are we ignoring these events? Why should safety be a concern for people travelling to work, to home, or to a destination to further explore this wonderful city? No one should have to worry about their welfare on a train whether early in the morning, or late at night.

A Benefit of the System’s Design: Things to Keep

We must focus attention on bettering this problem. Our subway system is incredibly important, and may increase in such importance with time. Public transportation has its perks for helping the environment. The NYC subway is the much more eco-friendly option than cars because it uses electricity instead of any CNG, also known as compressed natural gas (Hilber). Not only is this healthier for riders themselves like you and me, but also the atmosphere, and the Earth. Using public transportation can ensure a better and more natural Earth for many generations to come. This could also be used as inspiration for many other coming or updating forms of transportation around the country to preserve the environment. With such a brilliant concept, why not enhance its safety?

A System in Progress: Things to work on

Now, what can be done to solve this problem? Where do we even start? Let’s focus on the idea that the people using the subway system are completely unregistered. They have no identity there. They have no name tag, and if there are cameras that can catch them, sometimes all it catches is their hood. Now, what if the MTA used a new system that linked the common MetroCard to an ID card? Not only would it make sure everyone is identified in the subway, but also in the whole state. This system could provide efficacy in multiple ways: paying for fares online; students or in need residents receiving discounted fares, and even lowering crime. 

By knowing everyone on the train has an identity, crime may indeed decrease. Being able to identify a rider helps officers quickly identify who committed a crime if a crime were to take place. Overtime criminals may realize committing a crime on public transportation is too risky since officers could quickly identify them. Swipe in, swipe out. It’s that simple. And if a crime is committed, the criminal would be caught with much more ease.

Speaking of catching criminals, the MTA could ensure a camera on each train cart. Avoiding blind spots, it would be very easy to avoid crime of all sorts. And tracing them would only take a fraction of the time it would take without them.

A police officer should be available on each station, to be able to respond timely to any weird business. Although unacceptable, we have to face the reality that large settings like these–without security–create a perfect spot for crime.

Possible Limitations: Addressing the presented solutions

Implementing these solutions are simple, and within reach. However there are a few things of concern that should be addressed: 

With a new Metrocard system, there would need to be adjustments to the swipe-in stations, such as a new design for swiping in and out and linking ID cards to metrocards. Nonetheless, the amount of money being paid to implement these is not overboard compared to the efficiency that will come from it for many future years. Besides, it adjusts also to more upcoming technology and safety such as having an identity and more.

This would mean most people in NYC would have to become identified. This would not only make the economy better, but also it would make it safer out in the streets! It is all connected. The more identifiable you are, the faster the crime rate drops. Safety must be more important than a political question. Why should corruption stop that? As our society nears a more accepting era, then we must accept that there are things happening under-the-radar, and work to fix it, instead of pretending it doesn’t exist. By fixing it, we do not have to be racist, nor distrusting of alien persons. 

Going back on topic, a metrocard linked to ID is a great idea. It can decrease cost for people who need it, and it would put into effect an app sign in. Maybe instead of even having to use a card, we can use our phones or even something else. This can allow you to pay for the card online or have it directly linked to your bank card to pay on the go. A new system can create a faster and more efficient setup.

The same issue may go for cameras–money. And yet, it costs more to investigate hundreds of crimes and robberies than to just set up this security system. 

Perhaps the biggest problem, however, is the idea about increasing policemen. But this is rather a political issue of distrusting the police than about funding. “The city’s ‘transit advocates’ studiously ignore subway crime, because fixing it might involve policing, and acknowledging the need for police might look racist on Twitter, never mind what the actual riders want.” (Gelinas). We have police for a reason, and they ought to be doing their jobs along with the other members of our society. And along with the many cameras that will be implemented, surely nothing will be hidden from the public. 

Since when has the truth become less important than a facade? Why should hiding crime become more important than our safety? And if this truly is a political move, then there must be some correlation with it to the truth. We must address that instead of ignoring it, or else it will continue to build up. The ignorance we so profoundly preach will come to bite us in the end.

By hiring just 500 policemen to protect our transit system, we can keep millions of people safe everyday. Increasing police presence has worked in the past. When former mayor David Dinkins added 6,000 police officers–a 54 percent increase at the time than usual–there was a notable drop in unlawful conduct. From the beginning to the end of his term major crime fell 14 percent and murders dropped 12 percent (Crotty). Surely this is of great importance to consider.

The NYC Transit System can reach its Potential

Currently, the NYC subway system is seeing a frightening increase in major crime. Climbing numbers of rape, murder, assault (sexual and physcial) and robberies are enough to bring concern to one of the most crucial transportation systems in the whole country. However, the most important thing is that we can combat these numbers. By implementing a new Metrocard system and adding more cameras and policemen, we can keep passengers safe and on their way.

At the end of the day, we hope to implement these changes–not to increase the number of arrests–but to give the hard-working members of our society peace of mind while riding the trains. It is also to honour our city to bring it to the best that it can be, for all residents and tourists, now and in generations to come. This is an act of respect, considering over half of the city rides the train. Think of a domino effect–with such an essential and daily aspect of people’s lives, surely a brighter, safer system will create a better New York. And the wonderful thing is–it is within reach.

 

Works Cited

Crotty, Liz. “Opinion: NYC Subways Urgently Need More Cops.” City Limits, 27 Jan. 2021, citylimits.org/2021/01/26/opinion-nyc-subways-urgently-need-more-cops/.

Gallison, Jordana K. and Martin A. Andresen. “Crime and Public Transportation: A Case Study of Ottawa’s O-Train System.” Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, vol. 59 no. 1, 2017, p. 94-122. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/645811

Gelinas, Nicole. “Soaring Crime Is Killing NYC’s Subway System.” New York Post, New York Post, 15 Feb. 2021, nypost.com/2021/02/14/soaring-crime-is-killing-nycs-subway-system/.

Hilber, Marty. “Transit GPS – Public Transportation Improved by GPS Tracking.” Transign Destination Signs, TransignLLC, 2 July 2020, transignllc.com/how-gps-tracking-can-help-improve-public-transportation/.

NBC New York. Brooklyn Man Charged for Murder in 14-Hour SUBWAY Stabbing Spree That Left 2 Dead. 14 Feb. 2021, www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/two-dead-in-separate-stabbings-on-same-line-in-latest-string-of-subway-violence-nypd/2887818/. 

“New Yorkers and Their Cars.” New Yorkers and Their Cars | NYCEDC, edc.nyc/article/new-yorkers-and-their-cars#:~:text=According%20to%20recent%20census%20estimates,own%20three%20or%20more!).