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There's not a New Yorker out there who doesn't have a love-hate relationship with the subway. Did your train this morning arrive right on time and magically go express to your office? Marry me, MTA! Or, did you wait 30 minutes on your platform just to then hear an announcement that due to planned work your train would be running on a different line? $*@& you, MTA! Still, regardless of where you feel on this spectrum, there are some very real facts and statistics that might make your commute seem a bit more, well, frightening. Read on—if you dare.
1. New York not has the most bacteria-filled subway system in the country, but one study explained that holding a handrail is the equivalent of shaking hands with 10,000 people.
2. In 2013, 13 percent of all New York subway stations were found to have rat infestations. Which seems like a low number, until you remember the fact that at least one of those underground rodents is out for your pizza.
3. The worst accident in the subway's history killed 97 people and injured nearly 200 others in the crash. It happened in 1918 when a conductor lost control of the train in Brooklyn—back then the cars were wooden and not nearly as safe as our current models, but still!
4. One month alone, April 2015, saw 48,984 train delays due to overcrowding. That's nearly 50,000 crowded trains full of angry people just trying to get to work, get home, or go on that Tinder date with somebody they were really excited about.
5. While we're talking delays, they were up 21% in August 2016 from the same time in 2015.
6. In 2015, 3,000 train delays per month were caused by sick passengers. Which is up from 1,800 a month in 2012.
7. While most of those passengers vomited or fainted, some of them are dead.
8. There were 525 track fires in 2014.
9. There was a more than 50% increase of reported sexual harassment incidents in 2016 than 2015. Joseph Fox, chief of transit for the New York Police Department, said that there were 458 reported sex crimes this year, as opposed to 299 in the same period the year before.
10. Everyday, there is an average of 6.4 felonies reported to NYPD that take place on the subway, most involving theft.
11. About a third of all subway felonies happen when the victim is sleeping, which could happen to you right now if you're reading this on the subway, feeling bored and your eyelids are getting heavy—WAKE UP!
12. According to the NYPD, of the 20 known terrorist plots that were discovered in NYC since 9/11, 3 of them directly targeted the subway.
13. It's been four years since Sandy devastated the subway system, and repairs are still coming. Imagine what would happen if another super storm, or worse, hit New York again next hurricane season.
14. The MTA has proposed a price hike for 2017 that will bring single swipes up to $3, monthly unlimited cards up to $121 and seven-day unlimited cards to $32. Which, we all can agree is some upsetting news.