MTA To Increase Weekday Service On 12 Subway Lines In 2016
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- With ridership surging, the MTA has announced plans to increase weekday service on 12 subway lines beginning next summer.
The agency said an average of 5.6 million people used the city's subways daily in 2014, and that ridership is on track to exceed that record in 2015.
MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said riders should notice a difference once the agency adds 31 more roundtrips on the 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, A, C, E, J, M, N and S lines.
"These additions are made in order to serve more customers while still operating trains in a safe and reliable manner," Ortiz told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
Riders who take the 42nd Street Shuttle will see the biggest difference in service, as the MTA plans to double the number of weeknight roundtrips between 9:30 and 11:30 p.m.
The MTA said the additional shuttle trains will bring the average wait time between trains down to 5 minutes.
Extra weekend service will also be added to the C line.
But riders will have to exercise some patience for these improvements -- the changes won't go into effect until June 2016.
The MTA said the cost of implementing the increased service is $5.8 million annually, and that it has been included in the agency's 2016 budget.
