This is a distasteful subject, but I’ll just mention it and be done with it. I’ve ridden on underground subway systems all over the world — Paris, Boston, Berlin, Prague, Washington, D.C., Barcelona, London, Zurich, Rome, Munich, Frankfurt, Firenze — and New York’s subway system is the only one that has a serious problem with homeless urine stink. Okay, I might have encountered one or two faint whiffs in the Paris metro, but it’s not a regular thing there. You can, on the other hand, absolutely count on The Unpleasant while waiting for the IRT, IRT Lex, R or IND trains in Manhattan. Is it because homeless guys in Barcelona, London, Berlin and Prague are slightly more sanitary? Is alcoholism less of a problem over there? Do the overseas subway systems use more effective (i.e., more fragrant) disinfectant or employ more clean-up crews?
I’ve been saying for years (and there’s no question about this) New York City subways are the slowest, stinkiest and least reliable of all the major metro systems worldwide. Things have improved since the ’90s but the substandard service has been in place for decades.