Here’s a sight you’ll witness all too often in New York City:
After all, the very nature of public transportation means you’ll be sharing a confined space and breathing air with a car full of strangers.
Just a few days ago, for example, I watched from the sidelines as a flood of people rushed inside a train before letting the other passengers off. The lack of transit etiquette resulted in a brief moment of disorder, forcing one elderly passenger to aggressively shove her way through the gathering crowd.
In an effort to put an end to situations like this, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has plastered signs all over the subway to remind us all that “courtesy counts.”
Transit etiquette, however, seems to be ubiquitous around the world. Although there’s no official rulebook outlining what you should or shouldn’t do, proper behavior is something acquired over time (the learning curve of which is directly correlated to the amount of death stares you’ve received).
Now the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store is showcasing 100 years of transit etiquette with its newest exhibition, located appropriately inside Grand Central Terminal, New York City’s famous transportation hub.
Entitled "Transit Etiquette or: How I Learned to Stop Spitting and Step Aside in 25 Languages," the show features global transit campaigns and focuses on the “broad scope of humor” in places around the world, including Tokyo, Madrid, London and more.
The exhibition is up through July 16. The store is open 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
