NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — City Comptroller Scott Stringer on Sunday called for better off-peak MTA service to better align with the schedules of employees who can't work from home.
Stringer argues New Yorkers should never wait more than six minutes for subway trains or “high-ridership” buses. In a new report, Stringer's office urged the MTA to realign service for the coronavirus pandemic and released new subway and bus ridership data showing a need for better service outside of the rush hour.
“These face-to-face jobs were never nine-to-five,” Stringer said during an Upper West Side news conference. “The frontline workers have always been commuting during the early mornings, late nights and weekends.”
The report comes as the MTA struggles to bounce back from the pandemic. Even as ridership has begun to bounce back after the start of the school year, subway and bus ridership remains 50% and 40% below pre-pandemic levels as the agency faces budget deficits.
“We need to prioritize where people are and where people are taking mass transit,” Stringer said, pointing out that weekend ridership is rebounding back faster than weekday.
“We need a system that works for everyone — in every borough at all times of day,” Stringer added.
Stringer’s report includes an 8-point plan that outlines how the MTA could raise money and boost ridership.
He calls for the state to increase and “rebalance” the gas tax within the “12-county Metropolitan Commuting Transit District.” Only about a third of the gas tax goes toward transit, with the rest going to roads and highways. Stringer said the ratio should be flipped.
Stringer also said the city should rapidly build 35 miles of bus lanes and busways — primarily by targeted one-way avenues in Manhattan and the boroughs. The avenues should be converted to two-way, with half the avenue reserved for auto traffic and the other half dedicated to buses and cyclists, according to Stringer.
MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said the agency is currently running about 90% of subway and bus service for about 55% of its ridership.
“We recognize the critical role the MTA plays in recovery of the region's economy and have announced exploration of new fare options while continually providing better service with resources available,” Donovan said.
The MTA was at one point losing $200 million a week running service, Janno Lieber said earlier Sunday during an appearance on WABC-7.
“But we are making our way back very quickly,” Lieber said. “We literally, on Thursday, we set new [pandemic-era] record, 3.2 million on the subways,” Lieber said. “We're setting new records every week.”
Lieber added that a return to office commuting will be the “linchpin” to more stable financial footing.
“The key is that we’ve got to get the riders back and start building from there. I think we're on the way to doing that,” he added.