MBTA launches courtesy campaign

By Globe Staff

Tried of T riders yakking incessantly on cell phones? Ashamed when no one gives up a seat for the pregnant, elderly, or infirm? Annoyed by overeager commuters who force their way onto a bus, train, or trolley without allowing others to get off first?

So is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which launched a courtesy campaign today to remind riders how to behave. T officials hope the green, purple, pink, orange, and blue billboards will be hard to miss.

The messages are catchy: "Don't be a drone on the phone." Light-hearted: "Be sweet. Offer your seat." Direct: "Don't be a lout. Let them out." And whimsical: "Don’t dash without your trash."

The rude and inconsiderate are not new riders on the MBTA. In November 2005, a Globe columnist rode the Green Line with a pregnant woman to see whether riders would give up a seat. The findings were clear: "On a subway car filled with young, able-bodied people, the only offer came from the elderly woman who probably needed the seat the most."

In response, the MBTA launched its "Courtesy Counts" crusade in October 2006. It included passing out 10,000 brochures to T employees, urging them to be courteous to passengers. T employees also distributed hundreds of $2 Dunkin' Donut gift certificates to passengers observed performing small acts of kindness such as holding a door and giving up a seat.

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