Written by: Stuart Chirls, Senior Editor An experiment aimed at keeping New York’s subway clean has been consigned to the dustbin of history. To deter riders from bringing trash into the world's largest subway system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority five years ago removed garbage bins from 39 out of more than 400 stations. But the MTA canned its unusual social experiment after a state audit found track fires fueled by garbage did not decrease. Along with fires, stations continued to suffer an epidemic of rats drawn to the snack food bags, fast-food containers, soft drink cups and other culinary detritus discarded by eat-on-the-run passengers. Transit spokeswoman Beth DeFalco in a statement said that removing the bins "wasn't the most efficient way to clean the stations." The MTA made the decision to return the bins in September but are still making final evaluations. To deal with the 40 tons of garbage that accumulates daily in the subways, the MTA this past summer launched the "Operation Track Sweep" program. A total of 90 stations are cleaned bi-weekly, three times as many as before. The agency is also testing portable track vacuums and is purchasing more vacuum trains and cars that empty 3,500 station garbage receptacles. Track fires have dropped by 41% since the MTA began the cleaning program. Continue reading...
