Hunter College Students Conduct Study To See If Chivalry Is Dead On The Subway

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Is chivalry on the subway dead?

Hunter College students studied 5,000 subway riders at 21 stations over the course of a month. They found that chivalry may not be dead after all, CBS2's Jessica Moore reported.

"When the car gets more crowded, what happens is the percentage of men who sit is much, much less than the percent of women who sit," said professor Peter Tuckel.

Moore asked Edwin Rivera, of Fleetwood, Yonkers, if he would give up his seat for a woman.

"I do, I do. Not all the time, but elderly for sure, or handicapped for sure, but if she looks healthy..." he said with a shrug.

The study found that a mere three percent of riders read a newspaper, and no surprise, 33 percent were on their cellphones.

"If you're on your phone, and I'm trying to get on the train, and you're in front of me, and you're slowing me down from getting on the train, that's a problem," West Harlem resident Navah Little said.

Another problem is "man spreading," or when someone uses his or her body to take up enough space for two people.

"I hate man spreading so much," Little said.

"Guys will open up their legs and they'll take up so much room," another woman said.

It turns out, men weren't the only ones who were guilty.

"There's two sides to the coin. Women have their legs crossed, and you can't walk by, you can't stand in front of them," Rivera said.

Another top offense is people who stand on the train without taking off their backpacks.

So while chivalry may not be dead, on some trains on some days, it definitely appears to be in a coma.