Subway Service Returns To 24/7 As Full NYC Reopening Approaches

NEW YORK CITY — New York has always been known as a city that never sleeps and after more than a year, it again has a subway schedule to match.

The city’s return to 24/7 subway service resumed in an “uneventful” manner Monday morning after daily pandemic cleanings had halted the subways from running from 2-4 a.m. MTA officials have seen an uptick in ridership as New Yorkers begin to return to work, and the city moves closer to fully reopening, but Monday's return to full-service operations signals that things are slowing getting back to normal.

More than 2 million daily subway riders used the service earlier this month, officials said Monday and new records are expected to be established now that trains are again running on a full-time basis.

Monday’s resumption of full-service subway service was the first-time subways have operated 24 hours a day since last May, Sarah Feinberg, MTA’s interim president said at a news conference after MTA officials rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange Monday morning. Surrounded by train and bus operators and cleaners outside the Stock Exchange, Feinberg called Monday a "great day" for the city.

“The transit system is really a mirror of the city’s vitality,” Feinberg said.

She added: “New Yorkers are clearly itching to get back to work and to play and to bars and to restaurants and we’re delighted to be part of their journey back.”

Feinberg and MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye said Monday that the return to full-time subway service means that New Yorkers who rely on train service in the overnight hours can again get from place to place as they need. Foye, who appeared on WCBS 880 Monday morning, said that officials will release ridership numbers later this week, but that the resumed service is another step that the city is safety moving closer to a full reopening.

Foye said that rather than trains being cleaned from 2-4 a.m., they will now be disinfected at train terminals at the end of the line. Passengers will be asked to exit the trains and that MTA employees have become more much efficient in cleaning trains — a service that will continue now without subway service stopping.

Cleaning practices will also include the use of aerosols and air circulation systems as MTA officials continue to push for more ridership. The system is still waiting for 65 percent of its ridership to return to using service, Feinberg said Monday.

The resumption takes place as violence on the subways have continued in recent weeks. New York City police made three arrests in connection with the latest incident of violence on Sunday. Foye said that MTA is continuing to plead for more cops on subways and Feinberg said that she has seen progress being made in the form of more than 800 additional NYPD officers that have been assigned to the subways.

Feinberg and Foye also are pushing for more mental health support in light of the attacks and as MTA officials continue to push for more confidence among system ridership as subway users continue to return to the system.

“We need to make sure that the system is as safe and secure as possible,” Feinberg said.