Love in a Time of Public Transportation

Prague transportation officials have suggested a novel way to help combat big city loneliness: introducing singles cars on the Prague metro. Mooted for later this year, the idea is to set aside one car per train (probably the last one) for single people for a fixed period each week (though apparently you wouldn’t have to be single to get on). According to Prague transit spokesman Filip Drápal, the plan is designed to help time-poor singles lacking opportunities to meet others. He commented in Czech weekly Týden that, "People today have no place to meet ... Here they have the opportunity."

So far, the reaction seems largely positive. An online poll by Týden found 51 percent in favor, but the concept still throws up some tricky questions. Could attached people entering the cars be accused of infidelity? Might riders choosing the cars by accident feel unable to complain about leering or other unwanted advances? Many women dread the occasional rogue roving hands of subway crowds as it is, and the thought of cranking up sexual tension further by turning a crowded subway car into an ambulant hook-up shack clearly has its problems.