MTA Offers Free Rides For COVID Vax Shots Received At Hubs

NEW YORK CITY — Another round of incentives aims to get more New Yorkers onto the coronavirus vaccination train.

Eight transit hubs will offer Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA officials said Monday.

Riders who get doses at the hubs will receive seven-day subway passes or two one-way LIRR and Metro-North passes, they said.

"Get the shot and take a free ride on the MTA," Cuomo said.

The program is being run as a pilot Wednesday through Sunday to test what times and locations work best, Cuomo said.

It's the latest round of incentives being offered to New Yorkers who've not yet received the vaccine.

About 16 million doses have been administered across the state and 7 million in New York City alone. But city and state officials have grown worried about a dramatic slowdown in vaccinations.

Both Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have started to roll out incentives to entice New Yorkers to get their shots.

De Blasio on Monday announced the city will offer free tickets to places like the Bronx Zoo for New Yorkers who get vaccinated.

Cuomo and MTA officials said the transit hubs — six of which are in the city, and include Grand Central Station and Penn Station — will offer walk up vaccine doses.

"If the region is really going to recover, we need as many people as possible to get the vaccine," Sarah Feinberg, the transit agency's interim director, said.

The hubs and hours are:

• Penn Station - 34th Street Corridor
• Open: 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.

• Grand Central Terminal - Vanderbilt Hall
• Open: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

• East 180th Street (Bronx)
• Open: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

• 179th Street (Queens)
• Open: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

• Coney Island (Brooklyn)
• Open: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

• Broadway Junction (Brooklyn)
• Open: 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.

• Hempstead (LIRR)
• Open: 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.

• Ossining (Metro-North)
• Open: 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.