NYC to Temporarily Halt Subway Service Overnight for Disinfecting

Residents of New York City may have a difficult time finding transportation in the middle of the night as 24-hour subway services are coming to a temporary halt.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has asked the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to develop a plan to clean and disinfect subway trains every 24 hours.

“It is our obligation to do everything we can to keep our essential workers safe,” Cuomo wrote.

He added, “The MTA stepped up to clean trains and buses every 72 hours (a massive undertaking). Now, we must clean and disinfect every 24 hours. This is unprecedented, but we must do it.”

Cuomo announced the hours the services will be suspended and the alternative forms of transportation residents of the city can take.

“I asked the MTA to develop a plan to accomplish this. They will do it by stopping MTA train service between 1am – 5am,” Cuomo wrote.

He added, “There will be alternative transportation during this time with buses, for-hire vehicles, at NO cost to essential workers.”

Cuomo thanked New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) for his willingness to help with this plan.

“This is an extraordinary effort and requires us all to work together. This will be a joint MTA/State/City partnership. I thank for helping meet this challenge alongside us,” Cuomo wrote.

Cuomo recently expressed his frustration with the issue of homeless people sleeping in subway cars, as IJR previously reported.

“That is disgusting what’s happening on those subway cars. It is disrespectful to the essential workers who need to ride the subway system,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo will likely be extending his stay-at-home order beyond May 15 in some parts of New York, as IJR previously reported.

New York has become the epicenter of the 🦠Coronavirus Outbreak. As of Thursday afternoon, there are over 309,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 23,000 deaths in the state.