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The E train is the most improved line when it comes to cleanliness, but it's still the dirtiest in the subway system, a survey released Tuesday said.
According to the Straphangers Campaign's ninth annual subway shmutz survey, the E train is 27 percent cleaner than it was in 2005 when only 2 percent of its cars were clean.
While the L was picked as the cleanest line, about 29 percent of E and Q train cars were clean, according to the survey, a finding that did not surprise some riders.
"The E is really the dirtiest train because when you get on it, there's usually garbage under the seats, the walls are dirty or there's puddles of stuff in there and you don't know what it is," said Brian Ballie, 18, of South Ozone Park, while waiting for the E at Penn Station. "Sometimes the smell is so bad, I just walk back out."
The survey found that 50 percent of all cars in the 22 subway lines are clean, and the entire system is slightly less grungy than it was a few years ago. L train cars ranked most tidy at 88 percent clean, according to the survey, which examined car floors and seats between September and January.
The No. 7 and 1 lines tied for the second most spic-and-span lines. The L and No. 7 trains' cleanliness was not exactly surprising since both are part of a New York City Transit cleaning initiative, the Straphangers Campaign said.
"We congratulate New York City Transit and hope that riders on the other lines will soon be seeing cleaner subway cars," said Gene Russianoff, Straphanger¹s Campaign staff attorney.
Russianoff questioned the disparities in dirt on the 22 subway lines.
"If one line can be 78 percent clean how come another line can be 29 percent clean?" he said. "You're paying the same to use the Q or the L but you're getting a much different return on your expenditure."
Transit officials said the Straphangers survey conflicted with the agency's own surveys of train cleanliness. New York City Transit found the No. 3 train was the cleanest while the M train was the dirtiest.
Officials found the entire subway was 87 percent clean.
"Providing a clean environment for our customers is one of MTA New York City Transit's top goals but our customers can help us out greatly, by properly disposing of their refuse," said Steven Feil, MTA subway senior vice president.
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