Unwritten Rules of Subway Travel : City Smart / How to thrive in the urban environment of Southern California

It’s OK to look, but don’t stare. Pushing is allowed in certain situations. Let people have their space.

Those are just a few of the finer points of subway etiquette, offered by tube-savvy New Yorkers to riders of L.A.’s new subway.

There already are rules governing behavior in the Los Angeles subway: No eating. No drinking. No smoking. No loud music. No animals, except guide dogs. Violations carry stiff fines.

But it’s the unwritten rules of protocol that really matter, New Yorkers advise.

“There’s a myth about riding the New York subway that you can’t talk with other people or look at them,” said Joseph Rappaport, coordinator of the Straphangers Campaign, a New York bus and subway riders group. “That’s part of the fun of riding mass transit. You do get to look at a lot of other people up close, sometimes too close,” he said.

He offered these other tips:

* Let passengers out first and then enter the train.

* Proceed to the center of the car so you don’t block passengers trying to enter and exit.

* If you bump into another passenger, apologize.

* Give up your seat to the elderly and pregnant.

* Respect others’ space, “even if it’s much less space than you would normally give someone.”

If a seat opens up, it’s OK to “politely elbow” your way over to it, said Rappaport. Of course, in New York, with 656 miles of underground tracks, crowded subway rides can take more than an hour. In Los Angeles, the four-mile ride never lasts more than 10 minutes.

Parting advice: If you’re in a crowded car and want to get out, say excuse me--and then push!