Why Chicago residents wish their rail cars looked more like New York's subway
Skift Take
The big subway seating debate is over bench versus scoop-style seats with some residents complaining that Chicago's $16 million rail improvements have only made cars feel more cramped.
The CTA could go a long way toward addressing public unhappiness over the "New York-style" seating on Chicago's new rail cars if only CTA officials would consider doing what New York transit officials did many years ago.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="350"] The CTA neglected to conduct passenger surveys prior to the revamp. Photo by Rene Schweitzke.[/caption]
The solution starts with listening to riders. That's what the Metropolitan Transportation Authority did back in the early 1980s when it stopped installing individual "scoop" seats for its aisle-facing configuration on subway cars and instead switched to benches, according to the MTA. (The CTA recently dismissed concerns about forward-facing seats. But on that issue and aisle-facing benches, it's not surveying riders about what they want.)
"Our customers told us early on that benches are a more comfortable seat than a scoop seat," MTA New York City Transit spokesman Charles Seaton told your Getting Around reporter Friday.
It's simple to see why. The center-facing scoop seat on the CTA's new 5000 Series rail car, a departure from the forward-facing seats on the CTA's older railcars, is only 17.5 inches wide. The design assumes 17.5 inches is a comfortable seat width for everyone. But if the "average-sized rider" is bookended by two larger passengers who are
