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Twitter Responds To MTA’s Backpack Ban Proposal


November 18, 2014 | Rhett Jones

An MTA board member made a lot of people shake their heads in collective disbelief Monday when he proposed a ban on backpacks in subways. Charles Moerdler sits on the board of the MTA and took a subway ride recently with his granddaughter, who was wearing a bag, when it suddenly occurred to him that backpacks are annoying in a crowded train car.

Considering backpacks are how many New Yorkers carry their stuff from one place to another — and the MTA even sells its own line of backpacks — outrage was to be expected. As a result, Moerdler later backed down on the proposal, but the MTA said it will be implementing a new public awareness campaign to discourage riders from “man-spreading” or wearing their bags, a decent enough suggestion since both practices are annoying. Though, perhaps some of those marketing dollars would be better spent trying to reduce overcrowding, the real root of this issue.

Here’s some of the public reaction from Twitter:

Moerdler may be out-of-touch, but let this also be a reminder to New Yorkers: Take your backpacks off when you’re on a crowded train.

(Photo: Wikipedia)