Campaign aims to combat NYC subway surfing trend after spike in arrests, deaths

State and city officials announced a new public campaign that aims to dissuade young New Yorkers from subway surfing -- a dangerous behavior that has caused death among teenagers.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, MTA and New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday unveiled the comprehensive new campaign.

“The safety of New Yorkers is my top priority,” Hochul said. “Through this innovative partnership, young New Yorkers will hear directly from their teachers and peers about the extreme danger of subway surfing, saving lives and preventing more tragedies. New York will continue to do everything we can to keep our young people safe on the subways.” 

Part of the campaign “Subway Surfing Kills - Ride Inside, Stay Alive" involves the NYPD deploying officers to stations on elevated lines and by doing home visits with youths who have been observed riding outside of trains. 

Data shows that subway surfing -- the practice of riding outside the subway trains -- takes place predominantly during the warmer school months during the afternoon, showcasing it as a popular, yet dangerous after-school activity.

“Each subway surfing death tragically strips young New Yorkers of promising futures. We cannot endure another tragedy on our trains. That’s why we are partnering with the MTA on an innovative campaign to raise awareness, and we have recruited true social media experts to help lead it: young New Yorkers," Adams said.

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The multi-platform campaign includes public bilingual (both English and Spanish) "service announcements in stations recorded by students; digital signage across stations; student-created graphics and animations; posters and banners across stations and distributed in schools; physical palm cards distributed at schools and in stations; school swag including planners, pens and pencils, notepads and sticky notes; social media posts across platforms including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube in the form of posts, reels/shorts and influencer collaborations; distribution of new student MetroCards accompanied by a “Ride Inside, Stay Alive” palm card, and anti-surfing messages on the back of some MetroCards for sale in station MetroCard vending machines," the state announced. 

Despite recent warnings from police, subway surfing has skyrocketed over the recent years. The MTA has documented over 450 instances of subway surfing from January and June in 2023. So far this year 88 arrests so far up from 30 last year -- an 193% spike. Additionally, there have been five deaths due to suspected subway surfing. This number is a huge jump compared to five total deaths between 2018 and 2022.

“Riding outside a train car is subway stupidity and never ends well," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. "We are begging parents to speak with their children, and teachers to talk to their students about what can seem like a game but can end in tragedy."