MTA Considering Scent Detectors To Improve Elevator Cleanliness

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in NYC is considering a new device that can detect urine in subway station elevators, Gothamist reports. While discussing elevator reliability and cleanliness during a recent City Council hearing on subway safety, New York City Transit President Richard Davey said the agency would be testing an odor-detection system that would send out an alert when a urine-adjacent aroma is identified. In summer 2022, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (ELENET 947) planned to pilot similar devices and a similar program was also implemented in Atlanta after being piloted nearly a decade ago. The device detects a urine scent and then alerts someone by email about the problem so it can be cleaned as soon as possible. The program is described as a “proactive” move by the agency, and not a result of significant customer dissatisfaction, in the hopes that this will keep users from experiencing the issue in the first place. But disability rights advocates told the source that unsanitary elevator conditions have been a perpetual issue. Currently, locations with elevators have scheduled cleaning at least once per day, and elevators are cleaned when spills occur as needed, a spokesperson for the MTA said. A specific company/product has not yet been chosen but plans call for a potential launch sometime in 2023.