Honestly, not a big deal. A rule about drinking coffee?
How about a rule against threatening to kill people?
(more below the jump)
I was wearing a suit (I gotta wear one to the courthouse) a few mornings ago and this scraggly man screams at me from about a foot away:
"Good morning, motherf****er, got a PROBLEM?!!"
I think some judicious rule-drafting could let that guy know he's acting out of bounds, without unnecessarily chilling the use of the term "motherf****er" or the phrase "got a problem?".
Anyway, coffe en't the MTA's biggest concern:
Fare evasion is by far the most common violation, followed by smoking, obstructing seats, littering, drinking alcohol, interfering with the movement of other passengers, failing to produce identification, selling fare cards, unauthorized commercial activity, riding outside the train, and liquid in an open container.
Hell, a few months ago I was sitting in a car where a guy was sitting in a seat near the door, eating a slice of pizza. Not drunk, not homeless, just some guy. He's taken about five bites out of the slice, when we get to a stop.
And he just
throws
the slice
onto
the
platform
outside the car.
Don't sweat it.
Hmm.
The MTA's got some real SHPOSitude to deal with. Where are you when we need you, The Whaler?!