An MTA board member has raised eyebrows with his suggestion of banning backpacks on the subway, saying they add to congestion on trains.
Chuck Moerdler made the statement during the board meeting Monday. He told a reporter afterward: "What is obnoxious about it is when the person on a train comes to a sudden stop... and the person hits you in the kisser with it. That's no fun."
While straphangers agreed that big, bulky bags are a nuisance on a crowded subway, the idea of banning them altogether didn't strike them as practical.
"That's not a good idea, people bring their stuff for school," said Javier Ramirez from Queens. "Where are they going to put it?"
Backpacks are generally necessities for those who tote them, riders said, and the MTA agreed. In a statement Tuesday, it said it doesn't plan to ban backpacks anytime soon, but will release new rules of subway etiquette next year that may suggest riders put their backpacks on the floor.
That's an idea passengers can live with.
"I do like it when people take their backpack off and put it on the ground because it can get kind of crowded," said Ramirez.
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Moerdler also quickly backed off his statement, saying people should follow the MTA's current recommendations to hold their bags to ease overcrowding in trains.
The MTA Monday released a buget proposal detailing its scheduled 4-percent fare hike over the next two years.
