(NOTE CONTENT) No longer will urine be an issue for elevator riders in the Boston area, because the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has decided to install urine sensors.
Meghan Collins, MBTA program/projects manager, accessible tech, explained the reasoning behind the move, telling the Boston Herald, “In general, our elevator uptime is excellent, but we still receive a lot of complaints that are filed about riders’ comfort level in using them, and a pretty big contributing factor to that is people sometimes use elevators as restrooms.”
The sensors will be attached to ceiling fans in the elevators and will essentially be able to smell if urine is present. When it is detected, transit ambassadors will get a notification and then can dispatch a cleaning crew.
The program is only being implemented in a few places but if successful, it will be expanded.