Feeling anxious about riding the NYC subway? Here’s a guide for staying safe underground.

Violence in the New York City subway system is rare. But when it happens, it can make everyone’s commute feel extra-stressful.

The public transit system ended 2024 with a series of violent encounters, including a woman being set on fire, a man being stabbed to death and another man being pushed in front of an oncoming train. Police data show that transit crime fell overall last year, compared to 2023. Homicides, on the other hand, doubled from 5 in 2023 to 10 in 2024, according to preliminary numbers from the NYPD.

Here’s what to know about staying safe in the subway.

How dangerous is it actually to ride the subway?

It’s statistically quite safe. Millions of riders travel to destinations across the city with no problem, and violence is the rare exception.

Last year, there were far more traffic fatalities than subway fatalities in New York City. More than 250 people died in traffic-related incidents in 2024, compared to 10 on the subway, according to NYPD data.

One of New Yorkers’ most common subway fears is getting pushed onto the tracks. That happened 26 times last year, up from 17 the year prior, per police data. But former NYPD Sg.t Felipe Rodriguez said the risk is “slim to none” if you stay away from the edge of the platform.

“You’re not going to make the train come any faster by you standing on the edge waiting for it,” Rodriguez, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said. “The edge is one of the worst positions you could ever be.”

What are some things I can do to feel safer while in transit?

Rodriguez said the safest cars are the front, with the conductor, or the middle, where another MTA worker is stationed. But if you get onto a train car and something doesn’t feel right, he said, get off at the next stop — even if that means you have to wait for another train and you’re going to be late.

“Remove yourself from the situation,” he said. “You being 10 or 15 minutes late to work — you know, your life is worth more than just being late to work.”

Rodriguez cautioned against drowning out the world around you by wearing headphones.

He suggested not wearing earbuds at all, or only wearing one if you do. If that feels too extreme for you, maybe consider headphones that aren’t noise-cancelling or see if your headphones have a special ambient mode, which allows in some background noise.

MTA board member Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said that when she started riding the subway decades ago, "there were no cell phones."

"If we wanted to listen to music, we had to just sort of make it up in our heads,” she said.

She said it’s important to be mindful of what’s going on around you, especially on a narrow platform. While waiting for a train, she said, she likes to find a spot where she can put her back against the wall and she avoids walking on particularly tight stretches.

“If I feel real insecure, I’ll hug a column,” Daglian said.

She also said there are little-known tools to alert the MTA to issues in real time, whether someone's experiencing a mental health crisis or there's a mess on the subway car. While the most obvious options are the help buttons on the train and on the platform, Daglian said people can also ask for help more discreetly by tagging the MTA in posts on social media or sending a messages to the MTA on WhatsApp. Include a brief description of what’s happening and the subway car number.

What if someone falls or gets pushed onto the tracks?

If it’s possible, try to get yourself or the other person off the tracks as soon as possible. People tend to carry more weight in their lower half, Rodriguez said, so use extra leverage to get the person's full body back onto the platform.

Rodriguez said it’s difficult to stop a train once it’s already pulling in, especially if it’s a quick express train. But if the subway isn’t approaching yet, he said, you can flag down an officer from the transit bureau. Then that officer can connect directly with the control center and ask it to stop train traffic on the tracks.

In a worst-case scenario, if someone gets hit, Rodriguez advised to call 911 immediately and also find a station clerk or someone else working at the station to ask for help.

The subway is a shared space, where all different kinds of people come together. And sometimes …we’re stuck together. What can we do as riders to help the atmosphere feel safe?

Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul have often responded to high-profile subway crimes with increased enforcement. They’ve deployed extra police officers and the National Guard to patrol stations, and they’ve installed security cameras on train cars to deter crime. Hochul said in 2022 that she wanted it to feel like “Big Brother is watching you on the subways.”

Danny Pearlstein, policy director for the advocacy group Riders Alliance, said he hopes politicians will use less anxiety-inducing rhetoric about subway safety.

“It is such an explosive issue that can scare people away from the subway or into taking matters too readily into their own hands when they’re taking the subway,” he said. “Leadership is tremendously important to addressing what is a very knotty issue.”

Pearlstein said the responsibility for a safe transit system shouldn’t fall on riders, and victims of crimes on the subway shouldn’t be blamed. But he said we can all help to lower the temperature.

Pearlstein travels with his young kids, which he said helps him to feel safer, because having children or pets on public transit tends to make the atmosphere more welcoming. For those of us who aren’t traveling with toddlers or puppies — and also for those who are — he said riders should be thinking about how to de-escalate tense situations on the subway instead of revving up the stress levels of those around us.

“The subway is a confined space with no place for vigilantism and where heightening anxieties creates a real risk to other people,” he said.