What I was assuming was already done

To answer the question, "what would you do" about increasing subway security, I can suggest that maybe, instead of proposing something as interfering as bag checks, maybe subway officials should have taken a creative approach to what to do in case of an emergency, and made those plans public.

For instance, if there is a suspicious package or bag left on board a train, and the riders alert the driver to it, maybe they should try to take it off immediately?

Jittery about the bombings in London and told to be vigilant, Metro riders spotted an unattended backpack yesterday on the last car of a Blue Line train and did exactly as officials have been urging. They alerted the train operator.

But the suspicious bag stayed on Train 401 as it rolled through two more stations -- Metro Center, a major hub, and McPherson Square, a few blocks from the White House -- before Metro officials took the train out of service and inspected the backpack.

Why is it that the first reaction of Metro and New York subway officials is to go to about the highest possible levels—bag checks and "lockdowns"—instead of first making sure that the subway drivers know what to do in the event of someone reporting a suspcious package on board? The people in charge of security are under pressure to make things more *ahem* secure, and so they come up with the most high-profile solution possible, so that EVERYone knows that they're doing their job. "Improving efficiency of responses" doesn't impress anyone, even though that's what's most needed.

Also on the subject of bag checks: it's one thing to do those sorts of things in airports and stadiums, but the subway is something that millions of people do everyday, twice a day, going in through just a couple of small entrances. It'd all be fine and well if the only people having to do anything out of the ordinary were the bag checkees, who just had to step aside for 10 seconds or so, but I just can't see any way possible that they could do subway bag checks without adding a significant amount of time to everyone's commute. The entrances get clogged enough as it is at rush hour, but imagine the same thing with a checkpoint. And then add about 20 minutes to your daily commute.