New York City's subway dilemma: Will overnight train service ever come back?

[brooklynite]

Politico

NEW YORK — The city that never sleeps is waking from its monthslong coronavirus hibernation this week, but the central artery of New York City’s 24-hour lifestyle, its underground train system, will remain dormant overnight — and the longer it does, the more people wonder if it will ever reopen.

For the first time in nearly a century the biggest and most comprehensive subway system in the U.S. shut down from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. indefinitely starting in April. The reason at the time was to remove homeless people from trains and disinfect every car for the next day’s run.


Transit advocates and officials were aghast.

“I am shocked and stunned," said MTA board member Andrew Albert in an email to fellow members. “I hope this is not used as an excuse to ‘save money’ and make it permanent."

Now, with the city slowly reopening offices, restaurants and shops, many are pressing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to restore nightly service as soon as possible. The trains typically move the city’s single most important commodity — its workers — at all hours. Without them, the economic recovery of the city, the region and by extension the U.S. will be slowed or stunted.

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who effectively controls the MTA, has given no indication of when overnight service will resume.

And with a system that has suffered from years of neglected maintenance, archaic signaling systems and chronic delays, some have dared to ask if it may be a good idea to keep subways closed overnight.

Most subway system shut down overnight (usually substitute bus service is provided) which has the benefit of allowing more time for maintenance and upkeep. But NYC has, for more than a century, been a 24 hour City which doesn't get home by midnight. The loss of an all-night transit system would be disastrous.

[MisterNiceKitty]

1. I'm sorry, in what way would it be disastrous?

This push for "normalcy" is very overstated. There will be no normalcy in NYC for years to come now.

Most people in the city are not in a rush to get back on the subway. You do have those people lacking in common
sense who are, but you find those kinds of people everywhere.

There is bus service to cover those hours the subway isn't operating and under the circumstances there is no compelling reason to be out at that time anyway unless you have to go to work.

So yes, shut down and save money and energy (and turn off those electronic billboards in Times Square while we're at it, are they really necessary right now?).

[brooklynite]

2. Answer...

First, even in abnormal conditions, NYC is a 24 hour community. Health Care workers, food preparers, stock clerks, etc. are traveling to or from work at 2-3-4 in the morning.

Second, buses can take hours to get people from one borough to another.

Third, most New Yorkers don't own cars, and can't use them as an alternative to public transportation.

[MisterNiceKitty]

3. Thanks for the answer

But I stand by everything I said. the 24 hour community thing, I'm sorry but it's just trite.

[Tom Traubert]

4. The City will become more bicycle and pedestrian friendly

There will be far less reliance on subways.

[brooklynite]

6. How far would you be willing to bike -- twice a day? (including climbing the bridges?)

[Tom Traubert]

8. Asking the wrong guy.

Last edited Thu Jul 2, 2020, 05:43 PM - Edit history (1)

I commuted by bike from the UWS to the Wall St. area by bike for years, and ride a lot. Electric bikes and scooters are going to render your question a non-issue.

[brooklynite]

10. UWS to Wall St is about 45-50 min per my experience

That would be the equivalent of biking to Utica Ave/Eastern Parkway. Lot of Brooklyn and Queens past that distance.

E-Bikes and scooters are a great way of getting people out the cars. The problem is, in NYC commuters were already out of cars (87% taking public transportation). Filling the streets with smaller vehicles isn’t a mobility solution.

[Tom Traubert]

11. It depends.

I could make it downtown in far less than 45 minutes. In fact, I could make it faster on bike than I could make the door-to-door trip on the subway taking into account getting to and from the subway station. To accommodate bikes, e-bikes, scooters, etc., the city is going to have to improve bike lanes and infrastructure, and perhaps close some roads to vehicular traffic, but it’s going to have to happen.

[electric_blue68]

12. Uhhh.... and where do you live? As a born & bred NYC'r....

Right now it makes sense

But once we get an effective vaccine bring back the 24/7!

Buses take too long. I've left a place at midnight plus get togethers, movies (rare), clubs, concerts etc. Even on the subway it can take over an hour to get home depending how far away I was (obviously).

It isn't just all manner of workers.

[PTWB]

5. I don't see the concern.

They’ll resume 24 hour service when it is safe to do so, assuming there is still enough demand for that service to justify providing it.

[Baclava]

7. How many will turn to buying cars?

New Yorkers Are Thinking About Getting Cars Because of COVID-19

New York is the last American city where people of all incomes can live an easy car-free life. That might be changing.

The coronavirus pandemic has radically altered city life, and few cities have been altered as much as New York. Much of what made New York City worth living in—the libraries, museums, restaurants, and nightlife, just to name a few things I desperately miss—has closed, at least temporarily. But for many New Yorkers, one of the best aspects of living in New York is the ability to lead a comfortable car-free life thanks to the city’s robust mass transportation system, relatively bike-friendly streets, and general walkability.

If New Yorkers are afraid of getting back on the subway, it has far-reaching implications for the city’s recovery. New Yorkers use the subways and buses for much more than just commuting. In 2018, the last year for which ridership statistics are available, the average weekend saw about 5.5 million rides on the subway, equal to the average weekday’s ridership. If even a small fraction of those rides were to be replaced with private car trips, the entire city would grind to a maddening halt.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7kppab/new-yorkers-are-thinking-about-getting-cars-because-of-covid-19

[Blue_true]

9. Once those people check the costs of garaging a vehicle in a major city,

they will likely change their minds.