The MTA is operating full weekday subway service, albeit with widespread delays, on Monday morning after a winter storm that blanketed the five boroughs with between 8 and 15 inches of snow on Sunday.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber took to the airwaves Monday morning in a host of TV and radio hits to update New Yorkers on the state of the city’s public transit systems as they braved the snow for their morning commutes.
“We are operating full weekday service on the subways, on buses, the commuter rails are operating a robust, although slightly adjusted schedule,” Lieber said during a Jan. 26 NY1 interview. “We are operating a Monday morning commute and super proud that folks like nurses, construction workers, and restaurant workers can get to where they need to be. It’s part of our morale to be able to deliver in a condition like this.”
However, as of 11 a.m., there were delays across all subway lines, short of the 1, 5, 6, and the 42nd Street and Franklin Avenue Shuttles. The Rockaway Park Shuttle was experiencing “severe delays.”
Lieber said there are a couple of reasons for the service woes, including switches malfunctioning in the extreme cold. Temperatures remain well below freezing on Monday, and are expected to stay there through the next week.
“We are constantly having to slow service down to keep the switches from freezing up in these conditions,” Lieber said, referring to switch tracks.
The MTA chair, during a separate interview on Pix11, said personnel are standing by the switches to de-ice them on a “constant basis.”
“We are struggling a little bit with personnel who are stuck in New Jersey and can’t get in,” he added, noting that New Jersey Transit is experiencing a system-wide shutdown on Monday.
Buses running local citywide
Lieber said that all buses, including limited and Select Bus Service, are making local stops.
“All of our buses are chained and are rolling this morning,” Lieber said during the Pix11 spot.
When asked about complaints from some commuters about having to navigate mounds of snow at bus stops in order to board the vehicles, Lieber noted that clearing those piles is the city’s responsibility rather than the MTA’s. But he said buses will show up and wait for riders to traverse the snow piles.
During a City Hall news conference on Monday morning, Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Gerson acknowledged that it is the city Department of Transportation’s job to remove snow from bus stops.
“We have activated extra resources from our contractor and our DOT staff to be working on that,” Gerson said. “This was sort of an extraordinary amount of snow, and as you know, all of our workers are working to do everything around the city to clear snow in front of their properties, but we are working to clear all of those bus stops.”
Gerson said she could not immediately provide a tally of how many bus stops DOT had already cleared, but encouraged New Yorkers to report any snow-filled stops they encounter.
As for commuter rail service, the Long Island Rail Road is operating an “enhanced” weekend schedule, while the Metro-North Railroad is running holiday service.
NYC Ferry had early morning cancellations accross the Astoria, East River, and Rockaway Route/Soundview Route routes, but is otherwise running regular service on Monday. Service on the St. George line may be impacted by icy conditions on the Hudson River, according to NYC Ferry.
Citi bike reopened on Monday with limited access to some stations, according to its website. The bike share company warned riders they may have to try more than one station to release or dock their bikes.
