MTA Adopts Gender Neutral Terminology for Announcements
As the MTA has worked to improve an ailing rail system and manage commuter expectations, many riders have heard the new, live announcements on their journeys—no longer the pre-recorded messages of delays or warnings about packages subject to search.
Now, the MTA is going a step further to operate inclusively: scrapping the traditional phrase “ladies and gentlemen” at the start of each announcement for gender-neutral terms like “everyone,” “riders” or “passengers.”
A bulletin went out to all transit staff putting the practice into immediate effect last week, PIX11 reported. The change is part of the MTA’s large-scale Subway Action Plan, aimed at improving and modernizing New York’s subway transit.
As conductors make an effort to communicate delays and changes in a personal, real-time manner, they’ll include more detail than in old announcements. They’ll also have the option of pointing out nearby landmarks to riders.
While major problems abound in the subways—from decades old cars to questions of funding—it’s good to know that the way riders are addressed will be more welcoming and inclusive moving forward.
