Board Leader
Posted 08 March 2020 - 10:00 PM
Daily News, New York, NY, 3/5/20:
Unhinged NYC train commuter sprays Asian man with deodorizer, fearing he has coronavirus
A man was caught on video spraying what looked like a fabric deodorizer at an Asian straphanger on a Brooklyn train amid coronavirus fears, and the incident is now being investigated as a possible hate crime, officials said Thursday.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
Board Leader
Posted 14 March 2020 - 12:10 AM
MTA website:
Precautions Against the CoronavirusUpdated March 13, 2020
"Coronavirus" is an umbrella term for a host of mild to moderate illnesses, including the common cold. The novel coronavirus that's recently been causing respiratory illness is referred to specifically as COVID-19.
We have protocols in place for emergency scenarios like a public health crisis, and we're staying in close touch with federal and state health authorities. There are steps you can take, too, to help everyone stay healthy.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
Board Leader
Posted 14 March 2020 - 12:17 AM
MTA Doubles Station Sanitizing Efforts Across New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North RailroadMTA Disinfecting Stations Twice Daily, Deploys Enhanced Disinfecting Procedures at Metro-North’s New Rochelle Station and Continues Disinfecting Rolling Stock Daily With Full Fleet Completed Every 72 Hours or Less
Video Disinfecting Subway and Stations Here; Video of Bus Disinfection Here; Photos Here
More information on the MTA’s Precautions and Guidance Against Coronavirus Here
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced an update to agency-wide sanitizing protocols as it redoubles safety precautions in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). New York City Transit, MTA Bus Company, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North are significantly increasing the frequency and intensity of sanitizing procedures at each of its stations, moving to disinfecting efforts twice a day, and continuing its daily cleanings on its fleet of rolling stock with the full fleet of train cars and buses completed every 72 hours or less. The Access-A-Ride dedicated fleet is disinfected daily.
Frequently used surfaces in stations--commonly referred to as touch points--such as turnstiles, MetroCard and ticket vending machines, and handrails, are now being disinfected twice daily. The MTA continues to use EPA-approved and CDC-endorsed disinfectants.
At Metro-North’s New Rochelle station, crews will be performing a weekly deep cleaning, and a dedicated cleaning crew is now stationed there daily. New Rochelle has the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases in New York. Cleaning crews have redoubled efforts to clean major touch points at the station, cleaning once at night and again during the day to ensure commuters traveling from that station are safe as possible.
“Our top priority is to ensure we are doing all we can to make the system as safe as possible for customers and employees,” said Patrick J. Foye, MTA Chairman and CEO. “We are investigating new advanced disinfectant methods to build on the round-the-clock efforts our hard-working employees are undertaking to sanitize the system.”
“We are taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of our employees that continue to show their dedication to move 8 million commuters every day,” said MTA Chief Operating Officer Mario Péloquin. “Our employees continue to do a terrific job disinfecting stations, trains and buses to keep us all safe.”
“Good hygiene remains the best defense against COVID-19,” said Patrick Warren, MTA Chief Safety Officer. “The MTA has continued its disinfecting efforts, making sure those common touch points at stations, trains and buses are disinfected. We also ask our customers to redouble their hygiene efforts, stay home if you are sick, and follow the messaging we have up at our stations.”
“Our primary job is to keep our customers, employees and the greater public as safe as possible,” Catherine Rinaldi, President of MTA Metro-North Railroad said. “We have enhanced the cleaning efforts at our stations, making sure any hard surface someone can come into contact with is thoroughly disinfected.”
The MTA has continued to deploy health guidance PSAs at stations, on train cars and buses to complement customer messaging already deployed across 3,600 subway screens, 2,000 bus screens and at 84 subway station street entrances. The same messaging has also been deployed across 550 railroad screens. The MTA has stockpiles of hygienic supplies on hand and continues to procure cleaning materials, while working hand-in-hand with the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the State Department of Health (DOH), and other government agencies.
Daily car disinfection of New York City Transit’s 6,714 subway cars, Staten Island Railway’s 64 cars, and Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North's over 1,100 cars each, continues so that no car in a fleet would go beyond a 72-hour period without a full cleaning. This cleaning cycle also includes the MTA’s 5,700 buses and fleet of 1,341 dedicated Access-A-Ride vans, which are fully disinfected daily.
Cumulatively since March 2, there have been 16,225 subway cars disinfected, as well as 293 Staten Island Railway cars, 16,049 NYC Transit and MTA buses, 11,045 Paratransit vehicles, 4,756 Long Island Rail Road train cars, and 3,635 Metro-North Railroad train cars.
There are 472 subway stations, 21 stations along Staten Island Railway, the 124 stations and terminals along Long Island Rail Road and 124 stations throughout Metro-North's territory.
The MTA continues to work around the clock with the CDC, DOH and other agencies, and has already taken a number of steps to provide information about the novel coronavirus to employees and customers.
Extended hours are being offered for employees to receive free flu shots at any MTA Medical Assessment Center (MAC). Employees can also get flu shots at a pharmacy or from their health care provider.
The MTA continues to urge customers and employees to follow recommendations from the CDC:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
- Individuals who are experiencing symptoms and may have traveled to areas of concern or have been in contact with somebody who has traveled to these areas should call ahead to their healthcare provider before presenting for treatment.
Coronavirus is an umbrella term for a host of mild-to-moderate illnesses including the common cold. Most people get infected with one or more of these viruses at some point in their lives. These illnesses should not be confused with COVID-19.
For more information on the MTA’s precautions and guidance regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) visit https://new.mta.info...nst-coronavirus.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
Board Leader
Posted 14 March 2020 - 12:22 AM
Second Avenue Sagas, 3/12/20:
Transit in the time of COVID-19: The trains keep running as ridership drops while the MTA ramps up cleaning efforts
As this surreal week has slipped by and New York’s response to the COVID-19 threat evolves every few hours, a lot of people have asked me the same questions: Will the trains keep running? Is it safe to ride them? I thought it would be useful to summarize where we are right now.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
Administrator
Posted 15 March 2020 - 07:16 PM
WINS-AM New York 3/13/20
MTA prepares multiple contingency plans as ridership drastically dips amid coronavirus concerns
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Despite subways and buses continuing to run normally, ridership across the MTA has drastically dropped amid coronavirus concerns, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office revealed on Thursday.
According to MTA spokeswoman Kayla Shults, as of Wednesday, the total subway ridership was down 18.5 percent from the same Wednesday last year, while bus ridership dipped 15 percent.
Metro-North ridership is also down 48 percent while the Long Island Rail Road is down 31 percent from last year, Shults added.
Administrator
Posted 15 March 2020 - 07:19 PM
WABC-TV New York 3/15/20
Coronavirus Update: MTA LIRR sheet metal worker tests positive for coronavirus
LONG ISLAND (WABC) -- An MTA worker has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, MTA officials said in a statement Sunday.
The Long Island Rail Road employee, who was last at work on March 7, is a sheet metal worker who does not work on-board trains or interact directly with customers.
Administrator
Posted 15 March 2020 - 07:25 PM
WNYW-TV New York 3/13/20
MTA Chairman on rumors of mass transit shut down
MTA Chairman Pat Foye says a shut down of New York City mass transit is not in the works. The decision would ultimately need to be made by NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Administrator
Posted 17 March 2020 - 06:51 PM
The New York Times, 3/17/20
M.T.A., Citing Huge Drop in Riders, Seeks $4 Billion Virus Bailout
Ridership has fallen 60 percent on the subways and as much as 90 percent on commuter railways.
New York City’s public transportation system, the largest in North America, is seeking a $4 billion federal bailout as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered an extraordinary free fall in ridership and left transit officials facing what is likely to be the worst economic crisis in decades.
In a letter on Tuesday to New York’s Congressional delegation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — which runs the subway, buses and two commuter rails — said ridership had plunged 60 percent on the subway and 49 percent on buses on Monday compared with the same day last year.
Similar steep drops have taken place on other parts of the system: 90 percent on Metro-North Railroad, which serves communities north of New York City; and 67 percent on the Long Island Rail Road during the Tuesday morning rush hour compared to the same day last year.
Administrator
Posted 20 March 2020 - 07:10 AM
NY MTA news release 3/17/20
MTA Issues Letter to New York Congressional Delegation Requesting Robust Federal AidMTA Chairman and CEO Chairman Patrick J. Foye today sent a letter to the New York Congressional Delegation urgently requesting more than $4 billion in federal aid as it continues to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
The full text of the letter is available below and in PDF format at the link at bottom of this release.
Members of the New York State Congressional Delegation:
The nation is in the midst of an extraordinary challenge, facing the consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Public health experts expect the outbreak will continue to worsen, with far reaching impacts to the country’s public and economic health.
In the midst of this crisis, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the lifeblood of the New York metropolitan region, is continuing to serve the public. We continue to operate our subways, railroads, buses, and Access-A-Ride services around the clock, helping to get essential employees – medical professionals, childcare workers, first responders, public utility employees, our transportation workers – where they need to be. We’ve substantially increased the intensity and frequency of cleaning protocols across the system, disinfecting all stations and touchpoints twice a day. Our entire fleet of subways, buses and rail cars is disinfected on a 72-hour cycle – except for Access-A-Ride vehicles serving the disabled, which are sanitized daily. Whatever the cost, the MTA's first priority is protecting the health of our customers as well as the brave MTA employees who continue to show up for work – as they have done after past emergencies like 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy.
But the stark reality is that as more people stay home following the advice of medical experts, the MTA is now facing financial calamity. Based on most recent daily reports, ridership has fallen approximately 60 percent on the subways, 49 percent on buses, 90 percent on Metro-North and 67 percent on Long Island Rail Road. As a result, MTA revenue has plummeted as we provide these essential services. We project the full impact will be over $4 billion by the end of 2020 – even without accounting for the expected collapse of the more than $6 billion in state and local taxes dedicated to the MTA.
For these reasons, I am urgently requesting substantial federal aid at the level of MTA revenue losses ($3.7 billion assuming ridership trends this week continue for six months) and COVID-19 expenses (approximately $300 million annualized) as we continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
The MTA has already committed to finding $2.8 billion in savings over the next several years. No agency of our size can find additional billions in savings equivalent to the damages we have and will sustain as a result of this pandemic. This is a national disaster that requires a national response.
A supplemental formula increase to existing funding sources does not go far enough. And flexing federal funds currently allocated for capital projects cannot be the solution. Not only does this approach unnecessarily pit our operating costs against needed State of Good Repair investments to maintain our system, it has the potential to slow the critical growth of the MTA. Such a huge blow would come at a time when we have achieved tremendous progress: across our system – subways, buses, and commuter railroads alike – on-time performance has achieved sustained improvement and ridership was steadily growing, defying national trends. Our hard-fought, historic capital plan will benefit our customers and the New York economy.
New York produces nearly 10 percent of the entire U.S. GDP, and the nation will need a strong New York to fully rebound from the current crisis. The mass transit system operated by the MTA is essential to that objective, and restoring it is a matter of national interest. But it’s also a matter of fairness. As you know, New York is one of the top donor states, sending Washington $35 billion more every year than it receives in federal assistance. Now that it’s desperately needed, we’re asking for the federal government to redirect some of this money back to New York.
Time and again, New Yorkers have supported disaster relief for other states and Puerto Rico when they were devastated by natural disasters and other Acts of God. Now we are asking Congress to step up again and deliver for the system that is the lifeblood of New York City and the engine of the region’s economic future.
Sincerely,
Patrick J. Foye
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Administrator
Posted 20 March 2020 - 07:14 AM
NY MTA press release 3/18/20
NYCT press release 3/19/20
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