Riding The Rails

Coming soon to a subway car near you. Atlanta's Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority plans to add television and radio feeds for commuters. All 230 rail cars will be outfitted with 15-inch flat screens offering a local television news loop from ABC affiliate, WSB-TV, and transmitters that will offer three formats of on-board music: top 40, jazz, and R&B. This is funny in a way. When the subway system was being built, several of the more red-necked suburbs blocked expansion into their areas on the theory that the subway lines would increase crime. I always had a picture of a burglar riding the subway to the rich neighborhoods, ripping off a house, then riding home clutching a stolen TV. Now the TVs will be built-in.