The Subway II: Off-Peak

Off-peak subway riders are quite different from those during rush hour. The lack of urgency for most of the passengers can be felt; even if they are not engaged in conversation that makes this obvious. There are virtually no expressions of desperation or dread; more likely you will see expressions of amusement.


Tourists

It is rare to see tourists in single file in New York. Thanks to our (in)famous TV crime shows – NYPD Blue, Law & Order, CSI New York – the world is convinced that New York City is a hotbed of crime, so groups of fewer than four are rare. Most do not contain very young children, perhaps for the same reason. This is mostly regarded as a good thing.

Tourist groups are typically made up of adults of similar age, but sometimes consist of parents and their adult or teen children. About half of them do not carry street or subway maps within the city limits; this alone is insufficient to identify an out-of-towner. The other evening on a downtown #1 train a group of English females was reading the illuminated subway map aloud to each other and speculating on how long it would take to get to Canal Street. It was obvious to at least one native, a titian-haired woman in midtown black, that this was their first visit. As she got up to disembark at 18th Street she said to them “Enjoy your visit… and shop ‘till you drop!” “Thank you!” they all replied with a laugh.

Tourists, for understandable reasons, do not generally like to deal with reading material on the subway. For them, the ride is part of the real New York Experience.


Parentzillas

Perhaps the most obnoxious human subgroup, these are the entitlement-monsters whose offspring will someday be worse than they are. If pushing a pram they will heedlessly crash into other passengers with no apologies tendered. If the infant in the pram suddenly begins screaming, they will not have the grace to be embarrassed. Half of them will allow the child to continue screaming, ignoring the pained looks on the faces of their fellow passengers. The other half will attempt to placate the infant with food in one form or another, but the Urban Anthropologist suspects this is more about their own annoyance than about consideration for others.

In a few short years these same Parentzillas will be entering the subway car with Bratzilla who will typically spend his or her time swinging on the pole, running up and down the car, or fighting with a sibling. In the same percentage of time the Parentzilla attempts to rein in Bratzilla s/he will usually bang feet against the area below the seat. Many passengers have been seen to breathe sighs of relief upon the departure of such a family.


Teens

Most teens are riding the subway during off-peak hours in single-gender packs, usually identifiable by ethnicity or interest. Most seem oblivious to the world around them, but do not behave this way with the intent to offend others. Usually seen on weekends and – in most areas of the city – completely harmless except for their decibel level. The Urban Anthropologist can only blame volume levels on the iPod for that. If not in single-gender packs they are often in couples, still oblivious to the world because they are in Romeo and Juliet mode. The rest of the world often wishes life would still be like that.


The Unemployed

About half the members of this group look like George Costanza, as though they are on their way to job interviews in their neatly-pressed clothes and usually holding a copy of The Wall Street Journal or their industry’s trade publication. It is sometimes possible to decipher whether or not their meeting has already taken place and even how it went; most look very apprehensive before and relieved after. Those who feel it went well are usually reading a fresh copy of The New York Times, most of the time with the patented “commuter fold.”


Seniors

Most avoid the subway during rush and understandably so; even if the fare discount were in effect then most of this group would prefer to avoid the crush of humanity. Whether singly or in a small group, most are usually shopping. Most often seen during the hours between late breakfast and late lunch, the single ones are busy reading while the others engage in conversation. Some make a point of observing the more outrageously dressed teens, with facial expressions that telegraph “I’m glad I’m not young anymore.”


Shift Workers

They resemble the blue-collar workers seen during rush hour, but usually can manage to find a seat. They often look weary even before they start their days, as though all the scientists are right in saying that something gets upset when people reverse the workday. Their facial expressions seem to say “I’m glad my kids are on their way home instead.”

If Studs Turkel were still alive he would love to interview today’s subway passengers and perhaps someday the Urban Anthropologist will interview rather than merely observe. And wonder whether the contact will make a difference to anyone.