Let's bend an elbow on the T to torture unruly NYC riders
By Beth Teitell
Wednesday, June 29, 2005

I'm not taking any fancy vacations this summer, but boy am I going to have a good time at home. Taunting visiting New Yorkers, that is.

Yesterday brought the happy news that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to approve rules that would fine NYC subway riders for such seemingly benign activities as sipping a soda or putting their feet up on the seats.

So here's my summer holiday plan: I'm going to spend my time off from work riding the T. Ready for a day of fun, I'll board in the morning and lay in wait for tourists from New York to get on. Then - aha! - I'll break out an iced latte, lean back and put my feet on the seat next to mine, and sip away.

Ahhhhhhhh.

All without fearing that some transit cop is going to slap me with a fine of up to $100, like they might in NYC starting in October.

Speaking of October, did I mention that I'll be wearing a Red Sox World Series shirt?

``Cowboy up!'' I'll call out, pouring myself a cool beverage from a Thermos.

Actually, when I read about the plans for NYC, I got kind of worried that Boston might crack down on riders, too, on the theory that Manhattan annoyances always make their way here. (I'm still bracing for the $800 haircut that hit New York's Meatpacking District.)

But it turns out I can goad New Yorkers worry-free. MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera assured me there are no plans to harass T riders on simple lifestyle issues. Why? To paraphrase Rivera, we're very well-behaved. The feet-on-the-seat offense doesn't really happen here, she said, nor does bothersome quaffing behavior.

In fact, the T needs nothing more than the honor system to keep us in line. ``We encourage our patrons to use waste receptacles,'' she said calmly.

I was getting all smug, thinking how much nicer Bostonians are than New Yorkers, when I heard honking outside my window and recalled a little phenomenon called the Boston Driver.

So here's the question: Are there two distinct groups of Bostonians - drivers and T riders? Or does the same Bostonian who's ready to kill when he's behind his own wheel morph into a polite pussycat on public transportation?

I called the MBTA back and got press secretary Joe Pesaturo on the line. He was hesitant to go on the record on such a sensitive subject, but did say this: ``Let me speak as someone who uses public transportation (often). I find people to be very polite. On those rare occasions when I drive, I don't always find that (same politeness) on the roads.''

So it's settled, then. T riders are more polite.

Well, at least until late this fall, when cell phone use will become possible at four stations and the tunnels that connect them.

Then, my guess is we'll be begging for etiquette enforcement - and stiff fines.