Sir, Ma’am, Please Allow Me My 20-Inch Bubble . . .

The MTA reveals* what you already knew — rush hour subway trains are packed beyond capacity. But you may not have known what constitutes “capacity”:

Crowding is so bad that on the 4, 5, 6 and L lines, trains during the morning rush exceed the transit agency’s loading guidelines, which posit that every rider should have at least a three-square-foot space to stand in (that translates to a square patch of car floor 20 inches on each side).

*Revealing it why? Maybe as a favor to their allies in Albany who seem to be against the city’s end-run congestion-pricing fundraising ideas? It’s not that far fetched:

[New York City Transit president Howard H.] Roberts said the data had particular significance in light of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s proposal for a congestion pricing system that would charge most drivers who enter Manhattan below 86th Street — with the intent of moving people out of their cars and onto mass transit.

Mr. Roberts said that on many subway lines, especially the heavily used numbered lines, there is little or no room to accommodate more riders.

“It’s bad news,” Mr. Roberts said. “There’s no room at the inn.”