NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg appeared on 1010 WINS with Brigitte Quinn to discuss NYC Transit’s return to full service as New York City begins Phase 1 reopening.

A transcript of the interview appears below.

Brigitte Quinn: Live on the 1010 WINS Newsline Sarah Feinberg, Interim President of New York City Transit. Sarah, thank you for returning to our program.

Sarah Feinberg: Yeah, Good morning.

Quinn: Good morning. I want to talk about the subways but I have to ask you, when we talked on Friday about the buses you were awaiting a response from the mayor on your request to open 60 miles of city streets for the buses to move more swiftly. Any update on that?

Feinberg: No, no update yet. We would love to hear from them, we would love to work with his team to get those additional bus lanes moving as soon as possible. But generally the MTA and the Mayor's team work well together so I have no doubt that we can, we can move quickly together here, we just need to get started.

Quinn: Okay, let's talk about this exciting day one of the first phase of the reopening, and what can people expect on the subways? Will riders be safe, Sarah?

Feinberg: Absolutely. So first of all, I've been out the system all morning, I've been on three trains so far and I think four stations. So, I'll tell you what I'm seeing and what and what riders can expect to see. First of all the system is clean; the trains are gleaming, the stations are clean. For riders who haven’t joined us in the last few months, they're going to see a system that's the cleanest they've probably ever seen it. They're also going to see that there's everything in the stations that they need. So if they need hand sanitizer, hand sanitizer is being passed out and is available in the station. If somehow after all this you've forgotten your mask or maybe it's fallen out of your pocket or maybe the elastic broke, we've got extra masks for you in the station booth. If you lose your mask, just go to the booth and ask for an extra and you’ll get one.

Quinn: And if you don't wear a mask what happens? I understand that more NYPD were added to the trains. Is that right Sarah?

Feinberg: Well look, masks are absolutely required on public transit, that's now the law, and I'll tell you as being out this morning I'm seeing almost 100% compliance, you have to look pretty hard to find someone who's not wearing a mask this morning. But it's absolutely required and sure, we've got NYPD out, we've got MTA police out, but generally they're always in the system they're just making sure that the system is safe and that things are running smoothly. Again, I just don't see an issue with masks this morning. I'd love it if we could get to 100% but everyone I'm seeing is wearing a mask.

Quinn: And what about being in a subway car, an enclosed place? Are new air filters being tested to improve ventilation?

Feinberg: Yeah, look, we've got new air filters that are that are doing their job, we're making sure that those are working well and they're cleaning the air. I think one of the most interesting things you'll see is we've got a whole bunch of new signs up at the station, new floor decals that are down on platforms. We've painted some stencils down so people know where to stand in case that's helpful to them. If you haven't been in a system for last couple months, it's going to feel very different this morning, and I think, look, I think New York is ready. I think New York has had a long 100 days and is ready for Phase 1.

Quinn: Yeah, it has been a long 100 days for sure. Sarah, are we talking about 15% of the usual number of riders today? Is that number still correct?

Feinberg: I think it's going to be higher than that. We won't know till later but we were at about 15% going into today, maybe 14% going into today, and just being out in the system myself-- and it's not even eight o'clock yet--I'm seeing a you know, an uptick in ridership that's clearly noticeable. So I think we're going to be higher than that today and I think we're going to be higher in the coming days.

Quinn: And let's talk a little bit about finances. Let's say you bought a monthly MetroCard, right, and then you didn't get to use it when the city shut down. What happens? You have to just buy a new one? How does that work?

Feinberg: Yeah, it's a great question. You know, we haven't heard from that many folks on it, I think employers were trying to be generous with their employees and I think those who had monthly cards were trying to just get through the pandemic and stay home and worry about other things. If people have questions, we'll certainly take a look at it. I think for the most part, though, folks have sort of moved on and are just ready for a fresh start and a fresh month.

Quinn: And about buying any, you know, MetroCard or a daily whatever, use the app, is that the best way to go?

Feinberg: Yeah, absolutely. So, we're sharing a bunch of data with riders this morning and every day--we've got a dashboard that tells people about ridership, we have got OMNY out as many places as we can, it's in about half our stations now, so that's a contactless way to enter the system. If you can use technology to make your commute a little bit easier, I recommend it.

Quinn: Not all of us are so swift at that, but we're learning. Last quick question for you, Sarah. The overnight cleanings, any update on how long those will continue to shut down the system from one to five?

Feinberg: We're at least going to go through the pandemic. That's what the Governor said, I think it's the exact right thing to do. As we are able to sort of have this system to ourselves from one to five, when no one else is in it, just helps us surge into the station. At this point we're cleaning and disinfecting cars, five, six and seven times a day, and that overnight closure really helps us do that. So, we'll keep going for now and then we'll see what happens when we get to the other side of the pandemic.

Quinn: Alright, Sarah Feinberg, Interim President of New York City Transit, pleasure to chat with you this morning, Sarah, thanks.

Feinberg: Great to talk to you.