Thanks for all your feedback guys. Canav 44, you bring up a good point. There possibly could be a strong ham repeater that can be reached from the underground subway system. I never attempted this before. The train crews have no problem talking on their radios underground due to technology that another user mentioned. I do know that no cell phone network currently works on underground subways and the cars don't even have emergency call boxes. They are working to change this though. But, in the meantime, there is literally no way to contact an official while underground if an emergency occurs. I believe in a true life endangering situation when cell phone is unavailable (which I hopefully would never have to witness), then anything goes. One would think with all the crazy things happening in today's world, that there would be a direct link frequency between ham radio and public safety. I could only imagine the communication difficulties they must have had during Hurricane Sandy and Katrina because hams couldn't communicate with police/fire/rescue directly. When the phone lines go down, electricity goes out, Ham radio is the last line of defense. Therefore, it is sad after all these years, Hams cannot communicate directly with the ones who are trained to help.
"When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems look like a nail."
A radio is a tool, and you really should have more than one tool in your toolbox. If you really want to help others out, take a first aid class, CPR, etc. A radio shouldn't be your only solution. A police officer, fire fighter, paramedic, etc. don't just rely on their radio. They have lots of training and can do their job without a radio in their hand.
I understand what you are saying, I felt this way once. Then, I realized that you can't put all your eggs into one basket. Expecting a radio to solve all issues isn't a good idea.
As for having one frequency to contact public safety, there are just too many variables involved there. Not every public safety agency is on the same band, and expecting them to install, maintain and operate more equipment isn't going to happen. The other issue we have is that asking for amateurs to be treated differently than everyone else isn't going to work. Public safety dispatch systems are set up very specifically, and letting one group have a "backdoor" into that system doesn't jive with the way it works. Amateurs have no training to communicate with first responders directly. The language is different, and most amateurs don't have the discipline to do it right.
There are ways to do this, but expecting the public safety radio system to change because a guy with an amateur license has a $70 radio that can talk on frequencies outside the amateur bands isn't the way to make it happen. Use an amateur repeater like you are licensed for. Carry a cell phone. Learn first aid and CPR.