Res. No. 1415

Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign S.8328/A.10445, requiring the New York city transit systems to provide twenty-four hour service unless a declared state of emergency is in effect.

By Council Members Brannan, Kallos, Yeger and the Public Advocate (Mr. Williams)

Whereas, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is North America’s largest transportation network and is made up of the nation’s largest bus fleet, and more subway and commuter rail cars than all other United States transit systems combined; and

Whereas, The MTA serves approximately 15.3 million people across a 5,000-square-mile travel area surrounding New York City (NYC) including Long Island, southeastern New York State, and southwestern Connecticut, providing over 2.6 billion trips per year; and

Whereas, Included among the MTA’s main operating agencies are: MTA NYC Transit (known as the NYC Transit Authority), which operates NYC’s subway systems, the Staten Island Railway, NYC buses, and paratransit service within NYC; MTA Bus, which operates local, express and Select Bus Service routes in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens; MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), which operates the largest commuter railroad in America, extending from three major NYC terminals-Penn Station, Flatbush Avenue and Hunterspoint Avenue- through a transfer hub at Jamaica, Queens to the east end of Long Island; and MTA Metro-North Railroad, which operates the second largest commuter railroad in the nation, with main lines-the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven-running northward out of Grand Central Terminal into the suburbs of New York and Connecticut; and

                     Whereas, For decades, the MTA has served billions of people by providing a variety of transit options, however, since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting need for social distancing and remote work, ridership on MTA’s systems has dramatically decreased; and

                     Whereas, According to the MTA’s Day-By-Day Ridership Numbers, as of August 5, 2020: total estimated subway ridership was 1,335,725, a 75.7% decrease from 2019’s Weekday/Saturday/Sunday Average (2019’s Average); total estimated bus ridership was 1,296,100, a 40% decrease from 2019’s Average; total estimated LIRR ridership was 58,000, a 81% decrease from 2019’s Average; total estimated Metro-North Railroad ridership was 36,900, a 86% decrease from 2019’s Average; and total estimated Access-A-Ride ridership was 18,299, a 36.1% decrease from 2019’s Average; and

                     Whereas, To accommodate the decreases in ridership, the MTA modified its transit schedule during the first months of the pandemic, including a historic change to close the NYC subway system overnight, beginning May 6, 2020, from one a.m. to five a.m. in order to thoroughly clean and disinfect it, which had never occurred before in the system’s history; and

                     Whereas, The MTA’s transit systems provide essential transportation to millions of people, including those that lack the ability to utilize other means of transportation, so it is vital, especially for workers who utilize late-night transit services to get to and from work, that once the worst impacts of COVID-19 have subsided and the declared state of emergency in New York has been lifted, that daily, twenty-four hour transit service is restored; and

                     Whereas, S.8328, sponsored by New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, and A.10445, sponsored by New York State Assemblymember Robert Carroll, would require the New York city transit systems to provide twenty-four hour service on its transit systems unless a declared state of emergency is in effect; and

                     Whereas, The legislation would ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not leave an irreparable mark on the city, and that, in its recovery and beyond, NYC continues to move towards having a more equitable and connected transit system; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the city of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign S.8328/A.10445, requiring the New York city transit systems to provide twenty-four hour service unless a declared state of emergency is in effect.

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