New York to end 24-hour subway services for overnight disinfecting

New York City will temporarily suspend subway service between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. for daily cleaning and disinfecting, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Thursday, one day after announcing he would institute cleaning requirements.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) “can disinfect all trains and buses every night, it can best be done by stopping train service from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. every night during the pandemic so they can actually perform this service,” Cuomo said at his daily press briefing on Thursday.

Cuomo added that the MTA will provide buses, “dollar vans” and other vehicles to replace the subway for essential workers who rely on public transportation during those hours.

The governor said the subway has been eyed as one of the potential key vectors of virus transmission in the city, which has been the epicenter of the pandemic in the state. The four-hour window, he said, is the period of lowest ridership for the subway system, saying an estimated 10,000 people use the system during those hours. Ridership overall is down 92 percent, he added.

Cuomo said the MTA also intends to disinfect the Metro North line and the Long Island Rail Road, but said no service disruptions would be necessary.

“This is going to be one of the most aggressive, creative, challenging undertakings that the MTA has done,” Cuomo said. “It’s going to require the MTA, the state, the city, the [New York City Police Department] NYPD to all work together. It’s not that easy to stop train service.”

The governor announced the cleaning efforts at his briefing Wednesday.

“Any essential worker who shows up and gets on a train should know that that train was disinfected the night before,” Cuomo said. “Letting them endanger their own life and endanger the lives of others is not helping anyone,”