Folding Seats Debut On L Trains

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — New L train cars with folding seats hit the tracks on Tuesday.

The new seats, which can be folded up and locked into place, are the MTA’s solution to excessive crowding often see on the L train during rush hour traffic.

The MTA announced in July that it would test folding seats on L trains and Times Square shuttles as a possible solution to overcrowding on subway lines across the city.

Watch: Folding Seats Debut On L Trains

By adding two new cars to an eight- to 10-car train, MTA chair Joe Lhota estimated each L train would be able to accommodate about 25 more people.

Passengers responded to the new MTA initiative on social media with expected pessimism.

LeanBreeze asked on Reddit, “Where are all the elderly grandmothers going to sit?”

And pete from manhattan wrote on Twitter, “I'll give it 2 weeks before someone gets the key to unlock those seats, and ends NYCT's needless tormenting of L train ‘customers’...”

Photo and video courtesy of Tech and Transit/YouTube