I don't think riding the subway fixes the problem of determining where you're picked up and where you're dropped off (which this rule addresses).

If you have a prepaid pass you use it when you board, at the minimum, your subway entrance terminal is known.

If your phone wi-fi is on, your MAC can be sniffed at entrance and exit. Similar with Bluetooth.

NYC subway stations are blanketed in cameras. You'll be on film entering and exiting.

I'm not able to find it, but 60 Minutes (or similar) interviewed the NYC chief of police and he was claiming most surface streets have near full camera coverage in some capacity between government & private actors.

Using Uber/Lyft arguably gives you less time on camera in NYC.

Edit: `"That's the world we're living in now. Any street, any incident in New York City you get to -- most of the time -- that gets captured on video surveillance," New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill said at a press conference on Monday.`

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ny-nj-bombings/more-8-000-c...

Someone earlier made a now dead, but sensationalistic comment about how in some cities the transit police can search you before entering the subway, and if you refuse you can't enter (though usually you can enter from an entrance or station without the checkpoint).

I've even seen TSA stationed inside of busy subway stations, thankfully they were only gruffly and inefficiently redirecting passengers, but weren't doing body scans or pat downs.

I believe this is the way that it is in New York, at least when I lived there, unless the city relinquished its powers on this. Long reddit thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/nyc/comments/1dm5fu/what_are_my_rig...