NEW YORK - The MTA chairman says straphangers need to do a better job keeping trash off the tracks.
Joe Lhota says the two fires that caused hours of delays Monday stemmed from a buildup of garbage tossed onto the rails.
He says commuters can help prevent travel headaches like this in the future by simply putting trash in garbage bins.
"I want to believe that this MTA, it's our MTA. We all have to band together to understand. And anything that anybody can do to make short of that trash doesn't get down on the track offer would be very very helpful. Because these fires all start with trash being thrown down there," Lhota said.
Lhota says track fires have dropped by about 90 percent since 1981, when there were more than 5,800 a year.
He says he is aiming to get that down by 100 percent.