Wider doors, accordion-like connectors, and USB chargers are three features of the more than 1,000 new and redesigned subway cars the MTA plans to add to the city system, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.
Behind the designs are two firms: Antenna Design, which also created the physical design of the city's LinkNYC Wi-Fi terminals, and the Colorado-based engineering consultancy CH2M.
Their main purpose is to increase subway capacity, thereby reducing overcrowding and delays — but they're bound to have other — perhaps unintended — effects on your commute. We've speculated about the impact the new cars may have on your ride:
► With an open-car design and gangways that allow passengers to walk between cars, you can't count on containment of disagreeable odors.
@Gothamist So you're telling me that there is no escape from subway perverts and intense urine/vomit/whatever else smell?
— The Jolly Doctor (@doctor_jolly) July 18, 2016
► And you're going to hear the dulcet or strident tones of subway musicians from many cars away.
► On the bright side, for those you using apps like Exit Strategy and Citimapper to shave minutes off your trip, you'll be able to walk through the train to the car closest to your intended exit.
► With doors 8 inches wider than before, you won't have to be quite so patient boarding your train, and you won't have to hate door hogs who refuse to step out of the car to admit new passengers quite as intensely.
It's your right to block a train door while people are trying to get out. But it is also my right to body check you on the way out the door.
— Mary Ellen Owens (@themeo) May 20, 2015
► Expect to stand — seats look like they'll be in even more precious supply than before.
► Fights may break out over who gets to charge their dying smartphone, as they did on the Staten Island Ferry.
► You won't have to reach over or under a million sets of arms and hands to grip a pole when they're bifurcated in the middle for maximum surface area.
Credit: Governor's office
► Wi-Fi in your subway car means that when delays trap you underground with a swarm of strangers, you can transport yourself to the Seven Kingdoms by watching "Game of Thrones" on your phone. You may not even notice the time the MTA is making you waste.
