the future is coming

Warning: This Subway Car May Be Equipped With a Video Recording Device

The MTA has ordered 340 new subway cars, known as R179s, wired for surveillance cameras. They will replace older cars on the A line and be on the tracks by 2015. As part of the city’s new anti-recycling policy, the MTA opted to pay $748 million for new cars rather than invest in the costly process of retrofitting old ones. In six months, the transit authority will decide whether all future subway cars will be “see trains.” Not to worry, petty thieves and sexual harassers, the feeds aren’t monitored live, although the tapes can be passed along to law enforcement. We can already hear Improv Everywhere’s mind wheels spinning.

Smile! Subway to snap your pic [NYP]

Warning: This Subway Car May Be Equipped With a Video Recording Device