New York is a global travel destination all year round, but it’s particularly special to be here during the holidays. Longtime residents and tourists alike take advantage of all that the City has to offer – from iconic holiday markets to elaborate decorations, to big events like the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting.
All these people aren’t getting around in private cars. They’re taking transit, and our team is mindful of the influx of regular and new riders. So, we’re taking proactive steps to maintain great service throughout the season.
Much like how you might clean up before hosting, New York City Transit also wants the system to look its best – power washing high-traffic stations like 34 St-Herald Square ahead of the parade and 42 St-Times Square Station before the ball drop. We send additional personnel to stations to help with crowd control, wayfinding and fare purchases as well.
The holidays are prime time for station agents, who aren’t just ambassadors to the subways; they’re also representatives of New York City and their work is important. We take seriously our duty to provide excellent customer service to all riders, including visitors who might need a little extra help navigating the system.
We also know that more people create more trash. As much as we encourage customers to dispose of their garbage in bins, they don’t always do that. Not only does this present a cleanliness issue, but it can also have an impact on service when debris ends up on the tracks. That’s why we’re ramping up cleaning schedules at 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center to help protect service at the station that is the gateway to so many iconic New York holiday traditions.
We don’t want anything to jeopardize your ride. On-time performance last month reached an impressive 83.4%, boosted by the introduction of new trains. We now have 745 R211 cars in service, with over 250 running on the A line, 100 on the C, 70 on the G, and more than 100 on the B. The entire Staten Island Railway fleet has also been replaced with the new models.
Strong service isn’t a gift, it should be a given and we work hard to provide it. With this incredible team in place, I know we can continue to deliver safe and efficient service that all riders can rely on this holiday season.
