COVID-19 And The Subways: An Update From NYC Transit's Head

Trains are being deep-cleaned every 72 hours [View this email in your browser]( Acting NYC Transit Head On How The MTA Is Responding To The Coronavirus Plus: Andy Byford dishes about his rocky relationship with Gov. Cuomo. NJ Transit has really old train cars without enough seats. And a look at how Chicago, another city with an ancient transit system, made big accessibility improvements. By [James Ramsay](mailto:james@wnyc.org?subject=We%20the%20Commuters) [An MTA worker sanitizes an empty subway car] Gretchen Robinette/Gothamist Despite escalating concerns about the spread of COVID-19, Mayor de Blasio said as recently as this morning that he's committed to keeping schools and public transportation open. "We’re going to have to make a lot of changes in our lives but we cannot overdo," he told CNN. For the latest developments on the coronavirus in our region, including the two school closures now scheduled in the Bronx, [Gothamist is publishing regular updates](. Meanwhile, the new acting head of New York City Transit, Sarah Feinberg, was on The Brian Lehrer Show this morning to talk about how the MTA is handling the pandemic. Here are excerpts from her interview: How is NYC Transit cleaning its subways and buses? "Every 72 hours we’re doing [a disinfecting of all of the rail cars and all the buses](. We do regular cleaning of the cars, also. But every three days, we’ve got them out in the rail yard, and that’s where we’re doing a deep disinfecting clean. "In addition to that, every 24 hours, we’re doing the same thing on all our Access-a-Ride vehicles. And then in our stations, prior to yesterday, every night we were doing disinfecting on all of what we call the touch points. All of the places customers are going to touch — turnstiles, railings. Starting yesterday, we started doing those twice a day. So we’re now doing those generally about every eight hours, or every twelve hours or so." How long can the virus live on surfaces like subway poles? "We’ve seen [competing]( [opinions]( about how long this thing lives [on surfaces]. We’re trying to do everything we can to keep the cars, buses, and all of those touch-points in the stations as safe and as clean as possible, and then also recommending to people, look, people have got to take some responsibility and use some common sense here too. "I don’t mean that in a way where I’m saying it’s all on them. If folks are feeling ill, please stay home. If your employer allows you to telecommute, now’s a great time to telecommute. If walking is easy for you, that’s great — you should walk to work. That’s a great idea." Will the subway system totally shut down? "If the CDC or New York City Department of Health at some point tells us to completely change the way we’re operating the system, we will do that. We take our guidance from them. "But for now, we’re running a normal service. We have a lot of people who are using the service, obviously. We’ve seen ridership tick down a bit in the last week or so, but for now, a lot of people are using the system, and we will continue to execute on that." [MTA workers clean off a bus]( Muhammad Rahman/Gothamist As the governor suggested, do riders need to wait for the next train if a crowded subway pulls up? "We folks in government are going to give us much advice as we can, but everyone has to do what’s right for them. From where I live, I take the L to Union Square and then I take the 4,5. "[Telling me to wait]( until a less crowded L comes along just means I’ll be standing on the platform for a really long time because every L train, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., is totally packed. We don’t want people standing on platforms and ending up in situations where platforms are over-crowded. But look, I was in Grand Central the other day and it was eerily quiet." In addition to cleaning stations, could the MTA set out hand sanitizer for commuters? "We had a pandemic supply [of hand sanitizer] on hand already, luckily we plan for these kinds of things. But we’ve of course been out buying up a lot of those products. You may have seen the governor announce that [New York is now making its own hand sanitizer]( as well. That product is now being shipped to agencies, which is really helpful, so we’re going to have that on hand for our employees. "We don’t have a plan yet for distributing that everywhere, but I was just meeting with the head of our buses program yesterday, and he’s working on a plan for how we can get it everywhere." How are MTA workers being protected? "We’re making sure we’re cleaning the offices and control centers. We’re also urging employees to take their own common sense measures. So the typical, if you’re feeling ill, don’t come to work. Use hand sanitizer. Wipe down your work area. "There are 51,000 men and women who work at New York City Transit, they came to work after 9/11. They came to work after Superstorm Sandy. They come to work during snowstorms. They come to work during rainstorms. They come to work during pandemics. They are a real testament to keeping the city functioning and moving. Everyone says the lifeblood of the city is the subway system; the lifeblood of the city is the 51,000 people who keep the system running." Hear Feinberg's full interview on The Brian Lehrer Show [here](. And for more information about the coronavirus, check [Gothamist's recent FAQ](. Here's How Other Cities Do Transit Accessibility [Jonathan Annicks maneuvers his wheelchair onto the Chicago Transit Authority's Pink train line in 2016. He was paralyzed by a gunshot wound earlier that year.]( Charles Rex Arbogast/AP What if, instead of pushing through metal turnstiles after paying your fare, a wide gate automatically opened? What if there wasn't a precarious gap between the platform edge and the train entrance? What if stations were fully laid out with tactile paths for the visually impaired? Newer transit systems, like those in Singapore and Hong Kong, excel at things like this. But New York City could really take cues from Chicago, where the century-old L train network has undergone recent, dramatic changes. In 1990, when the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, about 6% of Chicago's stations were in compliance. Now, more than 70% of the network's 145 stations allow a passenger to get from outside to on board a train without encountering a step. And there are considerations that go beyond stations themselves. In Washington, D.C., for example, wheelchair users can request a shuttle to get to their destination at no extra cost if a Metro elevator is broken. To the MTA's credit, it is dedicating $5.2 billion towards installing elevators in 70 stations over the next five years. But some riders with disabilities fear that the MTA's approach to accessibility more resembles "box-checking," rather than making design improvements that people will actually use. [On Gothamist]( Caroline Lewis has more about the design choices New York can learn from. This Week's News From Gothamist And WNYC [Andy Byford seen on CBS giving an exit interview] YouTube/CBS Former NYC Transit president Andy Byford said in a televised exit interview that Gov. Cuomo made his job "intolerable." "I found myself somewhat marginalized. There were situations where people who worked for me, and even people who worked for people who worked for me ... were being summoned to be given directions about how the subway or the bus system – mainly the subway – should be run," [Byford told CBS' Marcia Kramer](. "I don't think any CEO worth their salt tolerates such interference." He added that he'd feel some "satisfaction" if he were to take over NJ Transit (riders have petitioned for the current CEO to resign) and turn the agency around. The city has erased a protected bike lane in Bay Ridge that was never fully built to begin with. For years, the Department of Transportation's official bike lane map showed [a protected lane running west across Leif Ericson Park](. "Seems like many years ago, the Parks Department installed signs declaring this a greenway, but they never actually built out the infrastructure to support a greenway," said Bay Ridge Council member Justin Brannan. The Parks Department confirmed that the signs were a mistake, but said the presence of a bike lane there is now being "re-evaluated." An unlicensed Bronx driver who allegedly struck and killed a toddler sitting in her stroller has been charged with criminally negligent homicide. The Bronx District Attorney says that last September, a 22-year-old in a BMW SUV was making a right turn when he jumped the curb and pinned a 20-month-old girl to a wall. [The driver then allegedly fled on foot](. He was charged on Tuesday, and faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted. From March 20th through the end of the year, weekend F train service between Church Ave and Coney Island - Stillwell Av will mostly be suspended. The service disruptions are part of a $253 million project to replace the train line's 70-year-old signals. The head of a Coney Island business group says that while she understands the need for the work, she wishes the MTA had given those affected more notice — and [considered waiting to start until after the summer tourism rush](. What Else We're Reading Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is urging dollar van riders to seek vehicles that are properly licensed by the city. He said Tuesday that while he understands drivers are just trying to make a living — and fill a need in areas underserved by mass transit — it can be dangerous to ride in an unauthorized van. The owner of a van fleet complained that in stretches of Brooklyn, unlicensed vans currently outnumber licensed ones by up to ten to one. ([AM New York]( An Upper West Side community board is demanding bike and pedestrian safety improvements during the coronavirus outbreak. The group passed a resolution Tuesday night complaining that the mayor's recommendation to bike to work instead of taking the subway is empty if bike lanes aren't added and reckless driving isn't more stringently enforced. Other activists have also requested that during the pandemic, the MTA allow cycling on bridges — like the Triboro Bridge — where it's currently prohibited. ([Streetsblog]( NJ Transit's passenger cars are the oldest in daily use of any commuter rail line in the New York metropolitan area. Many of the agency's cars were built over 40 years ago, when weekday ridership was about a quarter of what it is now. New double-decker cars were supposed to replace them this year — instead, those won't be arriving for at least another three years. This means that when a rush-hour train gets canceled, commuters will continue to have to wait for another train that may not have any open seats. ([The New York Times]( America "sucks at building public transit," and Aaron Gordon wrote a long article about it. The bullet points (which he provides): we build highways instead; everything costs too much; there are too many transit agencies, most of which are underfunded; and people don't trust the government to build things, so they vote against infrastructure projects. For more wonky detail, it's well worth reading the whole thing. ([Motherboard]( [the logo for WQXR's classical commute playlist] There are always reasons for anxiety to creep up during a commute. WQXR's Classical Commute playlist is always there to help. And it's [free to stream on Spotify](. Weekend Service Changes: Night of March 13th – Early Morning on March 16th This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. Saturday and Sunday, Flushing-bound trains will skip 82 St, 90 St, 103 St and 111 St in Queens. There will be no , , or train service at 50 St, 42 St/Port Authority, 34 St-Penn Station, 23 St and 14 St. No train service at Court Sq-23 St, Lexington Av/53 St, 5 Av/53 St and 7 Av. Norwood-bound trains will skip 155 St, Manhattan, 161 St, 167 St, 170 St and 174-175 Sts, the Bronx. Manhattan-bound trains will skip Sutphin Blvd, Briarwood and 75 Av in Queens. At night, Jamaica-bound trains and Court Sq-bound trains will skip Fort Hamilton Pkwy and Carroll St in Brooklyn. train service between Kings Hwy and Stillwell Av in Brooklyn will be replaced by free shuttle buses. No late night train shuttle service at Whitehall St, Court St, Jay St-MetroTech and DeKalb Av. Trains will also skip Union St, 4 Av-9 St, Prospect Av and 25 St in Brooklyn in both directions. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. Upcoming Meetings and Events Monday, March 23rd Joint Metro-North & LIRR Committee Meeting — 8:30 a.m. NYC Transit / MTA Bus Committee Meeting — 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 25th MTA Board Meeting — 9:00 a.m. Registration for two-minute public speaking slots opens 15 minutes before the start time for official MTA committee meetings. To speak before an MTA board meeting, you must register 30 minutes early. All meetings are held in the MTA's Board Room at 2 Broadway, on the 20th Floor. [a portrait of James Ramsay] James Ramsay is currently commuting between his fridge and his couch. 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