No vaping or fare evasion: MTA asks riders to be 'courteous' as more return to subway, buses

MTA officials are reminding riders to act politely toward their fellow commuters as mass transit ridership continues to rebound.

A revamped “courtesy campaign” announced on Tuesday will display advertisements — across trains, buses and stations — briefing riders on proper transit etiquette. The ads discourage riders from blocking subway car doors, wearing backpacks on crowded trains, vaping and evading fares.

“As ridership continues to grow, we want to let our customers know to be courteous and don't ruin the experience of your fellow customers,” acting MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara said at a press conference. “Transit systems should be a welcoming place for everyone.”

The messaging comes after the MTA celebrated seasonal highs in post-pandemic ridership, with subway turnstiles clocking more than 4 million daily entries multiple times last month. That’s still far short of the roughly 5.5 million daily entries the subway recorded before the pandemic, but marks an improvement from earlier this year.

Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road also broke their post-pandemic records for daily ridership last month, MTA officials said.

Officials said the campaign is a continuation of a previous one, launched in 2015, which among other things encouraged riders to offer their seats to people who have disabilities or who are pregnant.

The refreshed campaign features 34 different illustrations with messages, including “If you don’t make the train, don’t make it wait” and “Seats are for butts, not your bags.”

The new messages also warn riders not to charge electric scooters in subway cars.