The MTA is apparently considering a seat reservation system for NYC public transit.
In an interview on the 1010 WINS radio station yesterday, May 13, host Brigitte Quinn asked MTA CEO and Chairman Pat Foye repeatedly if the organization was looking into the possibility of having New Yorkers reserve seats on a subway or bus in the near future.
“We’re looking at everything, everything is on the table,” he said of how the MTA is figuring out how to keep New Yorkers safe once reopening starts to occur. “I think the first thing that we’re going to be looking at are staggered hours, and staggered days of work would be one, and we’re appealing to the business community, which, frankly, many of members of which are already contemplating that.”
He continued to say that they would also encourage a “continuation of telework and remote working,” which he believes will be a new reality in New York and all over the country anyway. They are also looking into technologies that can help accurately keep track of the number of passengers that are in a certain area of the subway at a given time, allowing them to somewhat control the number of people in the system so there are less opportunities for crowding. He said it would involve using the cameras they already have at nearly every station, paired with analytics.
“And we’re going to be looking at ways of, in the interest of the safety of our customers and our employees, to control the number of passengers,” he said.
“Obviously, social distance, wearing a mask and staying six feet away, is going to be nearly impossible on mass transit anyplace in the country or any place in the world and we’re talking with the CDC, with the trade associations for public transit in the United States and around the world, and with our peer agencies in Asia, Europe, and North America, to determine what systems they are putting in place and what protocols they’re putting in place. We’re looking at what every other agency is doing and figuring out how we can adopt that and make it fit New York City.”
See also: This Is Exactly How The MTA Is Cleaning The Subway Every Single Night
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