Metro seats in Hong Kong to be replaced because of smartphones

Hong Kong is taking into consideration whether to replace the seats from the crowded metro trains in order to give smartphone-addicted population more space to use their gadgets.

"There are an increasing number of passengers reading newspapers or using mobile devices such as tablet computers or smartphones during their trips that require more personal space on trains," stated transport and housing bureau in a paper, recommending "removal of some seats in some train compartments, to increase carrying capacity" and stimulus for passengers traveling outside rush hours.

Smartphones are used by an average of 87 percent of the city's inhabitants, according to some notes from September 2013. MTR signs, warning passengers to be careful not to injure themselves on escalators while using their smartphones, where placed by the authorities in the stations.

Designed in the 1980s and 1990s, the trains are made to hold no more than six persons in one square metre, a number of maximum four being proposed by the bureau in order to give more space to the travelers.

People were "less willing to board a train that looks crowded even when there is still room available. They prefer waiting for the next train."

An average of 5.2 million passengers are traveling each day on the 218-kilometre network.

The chairman of the Elderly Services Association of Hong Kong, Kenneth Chan Chi-yuk was not really convinced by the plan saying that "there are more elderly people now (in Hong Kong) and public facilities are not adequate, does it not contradict the original purpose of having seats?"

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