Many of our public transport-inducing headaches are (hopefully) going to be addressed beginning this summer!
As part of the Fiscal Year 2024 New York State Budget’s agreement to address key priorities and make New York more affordable, livable and safer, $35 million from the budget will go to the MTA for subway service enhancements.
The weekend changes are expected to benefit an estimated 2.9 million subway riders, while about 800,000 riders are expected to benefit from the weekday enhancements.
The first phase of these enhancements are expected to begin this July, beginning with a weekend service increase in Brooklyn and Queens on the G, J, and M lines. The increase entails trains arriving every 8 to 9 minutes compared to their current schedule of every 10 to 11 minutes.
Phase two begins in August, with a weekday midday service increase on the C, N, and R lines, which will cut train wait times by 2 minutes. Train service frequency will also increase on the 1 and 6 lines on weekends, with trains arriving every 6 minutes instead of every 8.
Increased train frequency will most definitely be a welcome sight this summer, as we all know how miserable the subway gets in the heat, especially considering the subway saw over one billion riders last year.
By December phase three will begin, which will increase weekday evening service on the C, N, and R lines as well as midday service on the G line. Trains on these lines will arrive every 8 minutes under the enhanced service.
6-minute service on the 1 and 6 lines during the weekend will also be extended during this phase to encompass more hours of the day.
Finally, the fourth and final phase will begin in July 2024. During this phase, weekday and evening service will increase on the B, D, J, and M lines with trains arriving every 8 minutes. The 3 and 5 lines will also see increased weekend service with trains arriving every 10 minutes.
“The subway is the lifeblood of New York City, and that is why in this year’s state budget we made sure to deliver the necessary funding not just to shore up the MTA’s financing, but to enhance service as well,” said State Senator Liz Krueger.
In addition to the increased service, NYC’s Re-NEW-vation Program aims to renovate a total of 50 subway stations by the end of 2023.