Subway Studies

Interesting article in Slate recapping some famous studies done in city subways.  My favoritee factoid is that if you ask someone to give up their seat for you, they are more likely to do it if you don't tell them anything about why you want the seat. Here are some subway studies I would like to do:

1. In what cities are subway riders most considerate? New York gets a bad rap, but every time I have been there, someone has offered me their seat on the subway at some point, just because I was carrying bags.

2. How do people deal with escalator-blockers? This one is DC-specific.  The Washington DC metro has many escalators in its system, as the public announcements so helpfully point out.  Metro etiquette is that people stand on the escalators on the right, allowing those who want to walk up the escalators to pass on the right.  It is a serious breach of metro decorum to stand on the left, particularly in rush hour.  How such breaches are dealt with varies. Some people just ask the offender to stand on the other side, other people just stomp their feet in frustration or give the offender the evil eye.  Asking the person to move nearly always works, so why doesn't everyone do it?

Okay, enough subway psychology for today!