NEW YORK -- It's generally not a good idea to pick a New Yorker at random, go through his things and slow his rush to the subway. Nobody needs another irritation on a hot, crowded, smelly commute.

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But city straphangers submitted calmly Friday as police inspected their bags and briefcases after the latest attacks on London's Underground. Some were skeptical, some were critical, but most said they were glad for the extra security.

"It doesn't bother me," said Davon Campbell, 24, a security worker who lost about four minutes while an officer rifled through his rolling suitcase and two shoulder bags at the Woodlawn station in the Bronx. "I can understand why they're doing it. It's important."

Ron Freeman, 25, a stockbroker who had his backpack searched at the Lafayette Street station in Brooklyn, said, "They should have done this a long time ago, ever since 9/11."

And Amy Wilson, 28, said the officers' work "makes me feel safer. I like knowing they're here."

At Woodlawn, Sgt. Kevin O'Connor used a bullhorn to alert riders entering the station that they might be searched. "If you do not agree to this inspection, you must exit the transit system immediately," he added. He said he hadn't seen anyone turn around and his officers hadn't met with any resistance.

Commissioner Raymond Kelly had promised there would be no racial profiling, and when a woman in what looked like Muslim dress was selected by Officer Richard Dixon at Woodlawn, he said he was simply picking "every fifth person with a bag." The woman wouldn't comment.

Richard Collins, 48, a black man with a beard and a white knitted skullcap, said he didn't think he was tapped because he looked Muslim, but he was "a little perturbed."

"Not because of the religion thing," he said. "They're taking two minutes out of my time."

The NYPD said there had been no arrests and no seizures of weapons, drugs or other contraband by late afternoon. Some people left rather than submit to searches, however.

Random searches were also being conducted on buses, ferries and trains to the suburbs. Outside a Long Island Rail Road station Thursday night, police discovered a taser, a spring-loaded police-style baton and a pair of chukka sticks in a Brentwood man's car, but said he had no terrorist links and had made no threats. The man was arraigned Friday on two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

On the subways, which are used by 4.5 million people on the average workday, the inspections started on a small scale Thursday afternoon in Manhattan, then were expanded during Friday morning's rush hour.

Authorities said New Jersey bus commuters will also be subjected to bag searches beginning on Monday, NewsChannel 4 reported.

The New York Civil Liberties Union opposed the searches, saying they violated the Fourth Amendment. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he hoped the NYCLU would recognize that the city had struck the right balance between security and protecting constitutional rights. He said the bag-checking program is part of a policy to "constantly change tactics" and "may, or may not, be there tomorrow."

The mayor declined to say how much the program cost.

Some New Yorkers had doubts about the whole idea.

"I don't know how effective it will be but if it makes people feel more secure, it's OK," said Greg Morgan, 30, of Brooklyn.

Tarshis Stokes, 27, was less tolerant.

"I think people feel violated," said Stokes, also of Brooklyn.

And at least one New Yorker had some advice for the police.

Rajnesh John, 34, of Yonkers, who works at an accounting firm, worried that the half-dozen cops and the bottleneck they created at Woodlawn might make an inviting terrorist target itself.

"They should spread out more," he said.

N.J. State Police Say Stepped Up Security Measures To Continue

Security that increased around New Jersey's mass transit hubs and other potential targets of terror attacks after the July 7 London bombings will continue, state police said Thursday after the British capital was hit a second time.

"We have not stepped down since two weeks ago when the first set of attacks occurred," said Acting Sgt. Stephen Jones, a state police spokesman.

Jones said troopers remained stationed in hubs such as train and bus stations since the first London bombings, in which 56 people died. One person was initially reported injured in the nearly simultaneous lunch-hour blasts Thursday on the London Underground and a bus, but authorities later said the person appeared to have suffered an asthma attack.

Two weeks ago, state police increased helicopter and marine patrols of the state's chemical plants and transportation system, focusing mainly on railway lines and ferries. Jones said those extra patrols are still in place.

Random Searches Added To Conn. Train Security Plans

Passengers boarding Metro-North commuter trains are now subject to random searches under increased security procedures following the latest attack on London's transit system.

Metropolitan Transit Authority police are conducting random searches of packages, briefcases and bags as part of anti-terrorism efforts.

"We are protecting the public at large from a real and defined threat," Dan Brucker, a spokesman for Metro-North, said Thursday. "The overall safety of 125,000 Metro-North customers is our No. 1 priority."

Brucker said that passengers can refuse the search, but Metro-North can then refuse to allow those passengers to board.

Searches were already underway on trains, buses and ferries into and out of New York City on Friday.

Connecticut Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle said police in Connecticut plan to focus on identifying suspicious behavior rather than conducting random searches.

"What we are doing is, we're having our trained dogs at various platforms on the New Haven line ... to patrol the platforms in order to determine if they detect any evidence of any explosives," Boyle told WFSB-TV.

Jim Cameron, vice chairman of Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, said he doesn't think commuters will mind the extra scrutiny.

"I think it's long overdue," he said. "I think commuters will understand the importance of random bag checks, as long as they're done truly randomly without racial profiling."

State Police Sgt. J. Paul Vance, spokesman for Connecticut's Homeland Security Division, asked commuters to be cooperative and make some adjustments in their commuting habits.

"To date, there has been no direct threat to Connecticut, but the alert level of orange remains, and we are continuing to assign troopers to ride the trains to New York and back," Vance said. "We are prepared to make some additions to that operation."

Vance said that commuters should continue to watch for the unusual.

"It's very important, because we're relying on the ridership along the trains and the stations to be vigilant and observant and report to police, National Guard or train personnel," Vance said.

Security on ferries had already been increased in the wake of the first round of bombings in London. Baggage is screened and cars are searched before they're allowed on board.

"We've always done security patrols, we've always inspected cars and things of that nature," said Ensign Vanessa Looney, public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard. "It's increased a bit, but it's always been there."