MTA considers food ban to prevent track fires
By Danielle Furfaro and Natalie Musumeci
July 18, 2017 | 1:30pm
The head of the MTA on Tuesday said the transit agency is considering banning certain types of food on the subway system.
“There is a lot of conversation about what foods are appropriate and what are not,” MTA chairman Joe Lhota told reporters at a press conference at Penn Station.
Lhota made the food-related comments after speaking about trash on the tracks following Monday’s garbage-fueled fire in Harlem that snarled morning rush-hour service and stranded throngs passengers on trains.
“I want to get to the point where we have no fires in the system,” Lhota said. “These fires all start with trash being thrown down there. We need to stop throwing trash on the tracks….It’s a partnership between the MTA and all of our customers.”
Recently, Lhota said, he saw someone on a train with Chinese food and “inevitably, rice got everywhere.”
Lhota would not explicitly say whether he thinks certain foods should be banned on the subway, but said Monday’s track fire started a conversation on the matter.
Source: http://nypost.com/2017/07/18/mta-considers-food-ban-to-prevent-track-fires/