As subway becomes a cesspool, it’s time to instate a food ban

I hate to be the guy that ruins the party, but news that most New York subway cars have become dirtier in the last year has led me to renew my call for a no-food rule similar to Washington D.C.’s metro. This is an even more practical solution in light of cuts New York has made and is continuing to make to subway cleaners, cuts that the Straphangers Campaign says is responsible for the last year’s dirtying:

The campaign blamed budget cuts at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the decline. There were 43 fewer car-cleaners in 2009 than in 2008, and 108 more are slated to be cut in the 2010 budget.

Yeah, a no food rule in New York has been considered and rejected in the past. It would change the way a lot of people — including me — ride the train. I’ll admit to being the person eating organic sea salt and cracked pepper chips on the N today. (Yes, I succumbed in a moment of weakness to the purchase of a snack food that tries to pass itself off as being healthy, but that’s another blog post). But, like most people, I would stop my eating if I was faced with a $100 fine like what District of Columbians face. I probably wouldn’t like it, but frankly, I’d rather have clean train cars and fewer rats, of which New York’s MTA has no shortage. Maybe the MTA could enlist this guy, who came up with a pretty brilliant subway etiquette campaign a few months ago telling people not to be jerks on the subway by eating smelly food and listening to loud music.