Urine Sensors to Be Installed on Boston Transit Elevators

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority expects that a new effort to combat public urinating in system elevators with technology will end the problem.

This summer, the MBTA will begin a pilot program in which urine detection sensors will be installed in four downtown elevators serving Boston and the surrounding area. According to the Boston Herald, the sensors inform transit ambassadors, who can send a cleaning staff.

According to MBTA’s program/project manager, Meghan Collins, the sensors on the top of an elevator has an attached fan that allows them to suck in air and “basically smell what is present.”

In August, the pilot will begin. MBTA hopes that the program will assist with the problem.

Collins claims that not only is public urine unsanitary, but it can also cause elevator damage.