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Boston transit agency to try urine sensors on elevators...

The Tradition

HR King
Apr 23, 2002
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BOSTON (AP) — Urine trouble no more, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority hopes, with a new program to tackle public urination in system elevators with technology.

The MBTA, which services Boston and the surrounding area, is launching a pilot program this summer in which urine detection sensors will be placed in four downtown elevators. The sensors alert transit ambassadors, who can dispatch a cleaning crew, the Boston Herald reported.

The sensors on the ceiling of an elevator have an attached fan, which allows them to suck in air and “basically smell what is present,” said Meghan Collins, a program/projects manager for MBTA.

The pilot kicks off in August. Data will be collected for several months before the agency makes a decision about whether to implement the program by year’s end, the newspaper said.

It’s not a new concept.

Nearly a decade ago, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority launched a pilot program that, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, triggered strobe lights, alarms and alerts to MARTA police when urine was detected in an elevator. The elevators were then inoperable until a cleaning. That program, deemed a success, was eventually expanded.

The MBTA hopes the program helps alleviate problems: Public urination is not only unsanitary but can also damage elevators, Collins said.

 
You think it would be easier to put up some portable toilets, outside elevators, and have them serviced/cleaned daily rather than dispatching someone to clean an elevator every time someone pees in it. But I’m sure there’s more to it.
 
You think it would be easier to put up some portable toilets, outside elevators, and have them serviced/cleaned daily rather than dispatching someone to clean an elevator every time someone pees in it. But I’m sure there’s more to it.

These aren't rational people. Likely street dwellers. They'll piss wherever they please.
 
I was in Providence (not far from Boston) last weekend. We hopped in an elevator at the airport and it reeked of piss. Must be a New England thing.
 
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