[Labyrinthos]

Actually, I ride the subways all the time and they are still clean and wonderfully air-conditioned in summer and heated in winter. Bicycles on the subway? I haven’t seen too much of that - it’s generally the double wide baby strollers that take up all of the room and the bulky shopping bags and backpacks. Hardly a third world problem. Still the best bet to get around NYC.

I agree. I hate to be a party-pooper, but I have not seen a significant degradation of the subway system. In my opinion, the homeless are not the problem, but rather the people who eat their breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the subway as if they are at home, without regard to the senses of the other passengers who may not appreciate the smell of the latest third-world cuisine de jour.

[miss marmelstein]

I also think subway etiquette has improved because everyone is on their iphone ignoring other passengers instead of - for good or bad - interacting with each other.