Smelly Subway Elevators Reek Of Urine Most Often, Study Finds

NEW YORK — Hold your nose — or take the stairs. Nasty smells pervade about four in every 10 subway elevators, with urine being the most common stench, a recent study found.

A wide range of straphangers use elevators to enter subway stations, including seniors, parents and people carrying large packages as well as disabled riders, says the study by Hunter College and TransitCenter.

While the MTA's elevators work almost all the time, the fact that many are dirty or smell bad bolsters their reputation as "places to avoid," according to the study released Wednesday.

"To make the subway system more accessible, the MTA needs to not only install added elevators but to make the existing ones more hospitable places," the report reads.

Student researchers from Hunter College observed elevators at 64 stations over the course of more than a month last September and October. They made visited each one on at least two separate days, noting whether it was working, who used it and what it looked like inside.

The elevators were working on 99 percent of the visits, but a third of them were labeled as dirty, 36 percent were penetrated by "noticeable" foul odors and 6.4 percent had "pungent" smells, the report says.

Urine was the smell researchers identified most frequently in their field notes, and many elevators were said to be ventilated poorly, the study says. The report also says more than three quarters of the elevators were seen as well lit and more than 28 percent had at least some graffiti.

Only about a quarter of the 472 subway stations are accessible to disabled riders. But the study indicated the elevators are used by many straphangers besides those with disabilities.

Among the elevator users with selected characteristics that researchers were asked to look for, people carrying large packages or luggage were seen most frequently, the study says. They were followed by those aged 65 or older, people with baby strollers, obese riders and those using crutches, a cane or a walker.

Wheelchair users ranked second to last, followed by visually impaired people. The report notes that elevator riders could have more than one of those characteristics.

"By providing greater accessibility to individuals with impaired mobility, the system will benefit hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and at the same time bolster its reputation as one which addresses the transit needs of all — and not just some — of its citizens," the study says.

New York City Transit President Andy Byford wants to greatly expand accessibility with his "Fast Forward" plan to revitalize the system. It would make 50 new stations accessible within five years so that riders are never more than two stations away from an accessible stop.

The MTA has also taken steps to make elevators less gross, according to agency spokesman Shams Tarek.

"Nearly 50 additional station cleaners who will address elevators have been hired under the Subway Action Plan, station supervisors inspect elevators multiple times a day, and the new Group Station Manager program is also helping coordinate responses to elevator issues more quickly," Tarek said in a statement.

(Lead image: A man presses the button for the elevator to the street at the Grand Central 42 Street subway station during his commute on Friday, Aug. 31, 2007. AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)