# Is it a crime to walk between subway cars in NYC? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 11, 2016, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631 "2016-09-11T08:09:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/1 "2016-09-11T08:09:08Z")
Inquiring minds, who may one day do this innocently, want to know. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/2 "2016-09-11T08:48:48Z")
It seems so: > [@](#): > > For the past nine years [in 2014], the MTA has prohibited walking between subway cars (unless in the case of an emergency or at the direction of the MTA/NYPD/FDNY), with rule breakers being fined $75. > > [Reminder: You'll Get A $75 Ticket If You Walk Between Subway Cars - Gothamist](http://gothamist.com/2014/06/12/reminder_youll_get_a_75_ticket_if_y.php) Also > [@](#): > > Rules of Conduct and Fines > > Fare Evasion: $100 Fine > Individuals are not permitted to enter the New York City Transit subway system or buses without payment of the fare. This includes instances when your MetroCard is not functioning properly. > > Interference with Movement: $100 Fine > Riders are not allowed to obstruct movement of trains by means of preventing subway doors from closing, activating the emergency brake cord in a non-emergency or other interference that will create delays or accidents. > > Smoking: $50 Fine > Riders may not smoke anywhere on New York City Transit property which includes outdoor stations. > > Unauthorized movement between subway cars: $75 Fine > Riders may not move between subway cars even if the train is not in motion, except in an emergency or when directed by police officer, conductor or authorized MTA/New York City Transit employee. > > Seat Obstruction: $50 Fine > Riders may not lie down or place feet on the seat of a train, bus or platform bench or occupy more than one seat. Riders may not place bags or personal items on seats in circumstances when doing so, will interfere with transit operation or otherwise impede the comfort of other passengers. > > [http://web.mta.info/nyct/rules/TransitAdjudicationBureau/rules.htm](http://web.mta.info/nyct/rules/TransitAdjudicationBureau/rules.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/3 "2016-09-11T08:50:02Z")
[It’s a $75 fine.](http://web.mta.info/nyct/rules/TransitAdjudicationBureau/rules.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Bones\_Daley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@Bones\_Daley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bones_Daley)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/4 "2016-09-11T08:58:05Z")
There is a difference between a crime and an offense, shirley … ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/5 "2016-09-11T23:53:17Z")
So, if you find yourself in a car with a group of unseemly characters and you fear you may become a victim, it’s illegal for you to move to another car? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/6 "2016-09-12T00:28:30Z")
Is this law enforced as vigorously as the one against jaywalking? 🙂 \*I must’ve done this a thousand times in my pre-2014 youth. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/7 "2016-09-12T00:53:05Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > So, if you find yourself in a car with a group of unseemly characters and you fear you may become a victim, it’s illegal for you to move to another car? Every subway car has a group of unseemly characters. The likelihood of getting ticketed for moving between cars is very low. People do it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/8 "2016-09-12T01:32:06Z")
If it’s prohibited, why is it possible? I mean, without tampering with the locks, triggering some emergency switch or kicking out a window? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/9 "2016-09-12T01:33:26Z")
> [@Bones\_Daley](#): > > There is a difference between a crime and an offense, shirley … Huh? / not snark. And my name is **Leo**. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/10 "2016-09-12T01:36:44Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > If it’s prohibited, why is it possible? I mean, without tampering with the locks, triggering some emergency switch or kicking out a window? Hasn’t changed since 1971, when Sylvester Stallone made Woody Allen nervous: (short clip): [https://youtu.be/blOUfHFaNvs](https://youtu.be/blOUfHFaNvs) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/11 "2016-09-12T01:50:34Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > If it’s prohibited, why is it possible? I mean, without tampering with the locks, triggering some emergency switch or kicking out a window? The gangway doors (with the exception of 75-foot-long cars) are unlocked so that passengers can travel to the end of the train in case of an emergency evacuation. On 75-foot cars they are locked because the large end-excess of the cars on curves would make traveling between cars extremely dangerous. Those doors can be unlocked remotely if there is an emergency. The upcoming [R-211](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R211_(New_York_City_Subway_car)) order will at long last have open gangways. ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/12 "2016-09-12T01:58:32Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Huh? / not snark. > > And my name is **Leo**. I think what **Bones Daley** meant was that there is a difference between prohibited acts that are punishable by jail or prison time and prohibited acts that are punishable by a fine. The OP asked if walking between subway cars was a “crime,” a word that most people associate with a criminal offense that is punishable by imprisonment. But this act is only punishable by a fine, not imprisonment, and that’s likely the distinction that **Bones Daley** was pointing out (i.e., this act is not a crime in that sense of the word). ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/13 "2016-09-12T02:08:52Z")
I myself, or, I, for one, have never thought that “crime” was connected to only one type of punishment, which, as we know can take many forms for many fits. Other people besides **Bones** really walk around with that definition? Am I in a minority? Not worth a new OP. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/14 "2016-09-12T02:11:15Z")
The word is civil infraction. Like a parking ticket. It is not a crime, it doesn’t go through the criminal justice system, you don’t have a right to a jury trial, but it’s illegal, and enforced by the gubbermint. A distinction without a difference most of the time, unless you’re arguing a point of law. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/15 "2016-09-12T03:12:35Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > The word is civil infraction. Like a parking ticket. It is not a crime, it doesn’t go through the criminal justice system, you don’t have a right to a jury trial, but it’s illegal, and enforced by the gubbermint. A distinction without a difference most of the time, unless you’re arguing a point of law. Plus a civil/administrative infraction by itself doesn’t lead to you being arrested and booked, but merely issued a citation, so it doesn’t give you a criminal/arrest record. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/16 "2016-09-12T05:38:16Z")
“What do they want for their lousy 35 cents. Live forever?”-Walter Mathau- The Taking of Pelham 12 3 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/17 "2016-09-12T08:22:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [It’s a $75 fine.](http://web.mta.info/nyct/rules/TransitAdjudicationBureau/rules.htm) I just looked at this list of possible offenses. “Carrying liquid in open containers: (fine of) $25.” Seriously? How many times have I, and millions of others, ridden in the NYC subway system carrying in a backpack or handbag, an open plastic bottle of water? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/18 "2016-09-12T08:33:17Z")
a related question: I don’t care whether it’s legal or not…I just want to know WHY people walk between the cars? I’ve only been to NY a few times in my life, but whenever I took the subway, there was constant activity, as (mostly young) people opened the doors and walked into and out of the car I was sitting in. What are they looking for? In most cases, my car was not overly filled up. And not once did I feel any problem of safety or perceived threat from other passengers. I really couldn’t find any logic to it. Maybe some native subway denizens could tell me something about the local culture? ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/19 "2016-09-12T08:42:17Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > a related question: > I don’t care whether it’s legal or not…I just want to know WHY people walk between the cars? > > I’ve only been to NY a few times in my life, but whenever I took the subway, there was constant activity, as (mostly young) people opened the doors and walked into and out of the car I was sitting in. > > What are they looking for? > > In most cases, my car was not overly filled up. > And not once did I feel any problem of safety or perceived threat from other passengers. > > I really couldn’t find any logic to it. > Maybe some native subway denizens could tell me something about the local culture? I can’t speak for all train-car-wanderers, but here’s my take based upon my experience as a subway traveler. Many subway stations have exits to the street located at opposite ends of the platform. As well as exits in the middle of a platform which are more appropriate for changing trains. So occasionally you might want to line up your subway car with the exit point you prefer. People who make the same trip every day will know to stand at a certain point on the platform to be in the front, middle or end of the train depending on their exit point. Occasionally for one reason or other folks miss, and they then walk through the train to reach the best exit position. Might save them hassle of doing it above-ground in the streets or on a crowded platform. Just my take on one possibility. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631/20 "2016-09-12T09:29:41Z")
On the London Underground, it is not a crime, but very risky, as there is open space between the carriages. That said, the new stock on the “Sub Surface Lines” (Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan) is all open, walk-through and Air conditioned. When the “Deep Tube” lines eventually get new stock (the Bakerloo has stock from 1972, the Piccadilly from 1975) it will almost certainly be open as well. It’ll be a while before any further lines get their stock replaced; generally London Underground trains tend to be in service for 30-50 years. The new Elizabeth line will be walk-through, air conditioned and driverless. The platforms will have doors that only open when the train is present. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-crime-to-walk-between-subway-cars-in-nyc/765631.md?page=2)