Governor Cuomo announced during a press conference last week that they will do something unprecedented: the MTA will clean trains and buses every 24 hours to help keep essential workers safe.
They were already doing it every 72 hours, which in itself was a massive undertaking. Now that it must be done in 1/3 of the time, he acknowledged it is a daunting task that will involves lots of MTA, NYPD and other personnel to make sure no one enters the station, is on the trains, etc.
The new plan is a joint partnership between the city, state, and MTA.
In order to do so, they will be stopping MTA service from 1-5am every day (starting Wednesday, May 6). The city will provide alternative transportation during that time with buses and for-hire vehicles (Uber, Lyft, etc.), that will be provided free to essential workers. You can find out more about those options here.
The state of cleanliness on NYC public transportation has become an increasingly startling issue over the past couple weeks, as homeless people have been “camping out” in subway cars and riding the trains all night long according to various reports. Besides just disinfecting the trains, the city is also doing outreach to help the homeless people get the shelter and help they need.
Mayor de Blasio even joined him via web cam to echo the plan.
featured image source: MTA