MTA Undertaking Most Aggressive and Innovative Cleaning Program in History – Cleaning Entire System Around the Clock

MTA Has Disinfected Subway Cars More Than 650,000 Times and Subway Stations More Than 84,000 Times Since March

Buses Have Been Disinfected More Than 210,000 Times Since March

Ridership Continues to Surge Back on to Ultra-Clean Trains --- 851,000 Riders Wednesday --- and Buses

Click Here for Video of MTA Leaders Visiting and Thanking Personnel

Click Here for Photos of MTA Leaders Visiting and Thanking Personnel

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) leaders today traveled across the NYC Transit system thanking station cleaners, car cleaners and other employees for their unprecedented cleaning and disinfecting efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 3,000 MTA workers have been dedicated to cleaning, disinfecting, and power washing stations, train cars, buses, and other equipment and locations since early March. Those include 1,000 workers responsible for cleaning and disinfecting cars in terminals, shops, and yards, all to ensure employee and customer safety throughout the system.

“Rigorously cleaning and disinfecting the biggest transit system in North America multiple times a day is no easy feat for our employees and today we honor them for all of the work they have done and continue to do,” said Sarah Feinberg, New York City Transit Interim President. “We thank them every day and want them to know how much we appreciate their heroic work to keep New Yorkers safe.”

A group of MTA leaders spent the morning visiting and thanking cleaning personnel.

They visited the following locations:

• NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg and NYC Transit Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer visited the 34 St – Hudson Yards  train terminal in Manhattan
• MTA Chief Safety Officer Patrick Warren visited the Wakefield – 241 St  train terminal in the Bronx
• Craig Cipriano, Acting President of MTA Bus Company and Acting Senior Vice President of the NYC Transit Department of Buses, visited Ulmer Park Bus Depot in Brooklyn
• NYC Transit Senior VP for Subways Sally Librera visited the Roosevelt Av – Jackson Heights station in Queens

The MTA’s most aggressive cleaning program in the agency’s history to date has led to all 472 subway stations being disinfected twice daily for a total of more 84,000 times, and all trains and buses being disinfected at least once daily for a total of more than 650,000 times, since March. Staten Island Railway stations have been disinfected more than 3,500 times, and its cars more than 3,600 times. Buses have gone through over 210,000 disinfection cycles and Access-A-Ride vehicles have been disinfected more than 120,000 times.

To further protect employees and riders, hand sanitizer dispensers are being installed across stations in the system. The MTA is also distributing mini-bottles of hand sanitizer, and masks, to customers who need them.

Ridership has continued to climb as New York City reopens, with subway ridership increasing to 851,000 riders on Wednesday representing about 15% of ridership pre-pandemic. Ridership on buses increased to 914,000 on Tuesday, representing 42% of ridership pre-pandemic.

Upon the outbreak of COVID-19 in New York, the MTA immediately enhanced its cleaning procedures and began disinfecting stations daily and the entire service fleet every 72 hours or less starting March 2; by March 11 the MTA increased disinfecting at stations to twice daily.

On May 6, the MTA announced the overnight closure of the subway system from 1 to 5 a.m. for unprecedented deep cleaning across its fleet of thousands of subway cars every day. Every train car and bus used in service is now disinfected at least daily.

On May 19, the MTA announced the first ever ultraviolet (UV) light pilot program to kill COVID-19 being tested across subways, buses and other New York City Transit facilities throughout the system. Other new and innovative cleaning and disinfection solutions continue to be explored.

Before New York City began Phase 1 of reopening on June 8, the MTA rolled out its 13-point Action Plan for a Safe Return ensuring all intensive cleaning and disinfecting efforts continue throughout the system as more riders came back. All train cars will continue to be cleaned and disinfected at least once a day and all stations at least twice daily.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic’s arrival in New York, to date, the MTA has distributed 3 million masks, 5.4 million pairs of gloves, 3.1 million sanitizing wipes, 36,000 gallons of hand sanitizer, 125,000 hand sanitizer bottles, 116,000 gallons of cleaning solutions, and 8,000 face shields to its heroic frontline employees.