Put best foot forward on T
Considering a certain someone knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, it’s a good time of year to work on being considerate of others — especially if you ride the T.
The MBTA Transit Police started the ball rolling by tweeting a user-submitted photo of a T rider who had kicked off their shoes and taken up a second seat with a backpack, asking people to better follow basic etiquette.
As the Herald’s Sean Philip Cotter reported, the transit police, whose Twitter account varies from announcements about criminal incidents to weekly “Saturday humor” puns, then posted a poll asking which was worse: the bare feet, the bag on the seat, both or neither. A majority of the 439 voters chose “both R offensive,” with an additional quarter saying the feet were a problem. Only 7 percent in the unscientific poll said the rider had done nothing wrong.
As a result of the post, other people tweeted additional pictures of unshod T riders.
“While the MBTA encourages customers to dress comfortably in their clothing or footwear choices, customers are also encouraged to exercise common sense, be mind- ful of the passengers around them, and note the potential of any safety hazards,” T spokeswoman Lisa Battiston told the Herald.
On a daily basis, riders on the MBTA put their bags on the seat next to them or spread out in three-seat rows to make other riders feel unwelcome. Let’s do better and extend a little hospitality to our fellow riders.
The same goes for seats reserved for disabled or elderly passengers that are commonly found be occupied by young and healthy folks. Give up the seat if someone else needs it.
Let’s be our best selves on the MBTA, for starters. The journey to a more civil society starts with a single step, with shoes on, please.