MTA Eyes Late-Night Pilot Program To Help Get Riders To Subway Stations
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A new proposal from the MTA could make getting to a subway station during the overnight hours easier for people living in the outer boroughs.
Stephanie Leconte is a chef. After a long day at work, she takes the train and then has to wait for the bus back to Canarsie.
"Twenty-five minutes to 45 minutes, I gotta wait," she said.
That's because Leconte comes home at 1 a.m. when bus service is less frequent. She lives too far to walk.
"I am a woman, and I stand at the bus stop by myself. Sometimes there's no stores that are open for me to actually stand in there," Leconte said.
The MTA wants to address the needs of overnight workers who live at least a half mile away from a train station and have limited or no access to a bus, reported CBSN New York's Aundrea Cline-Thomas.
It's called the "Late Shift" program. The transit agency wants to partner with private companies to provide a "creative and cost effective on-demand" service that basically takes commuters to subway stations outside of Manhattan during the overnight hours.
Conan Joel says, currently, the limited bus service puts an extra burden on workers.
"You have to give yourself, like, an additional hour just to make sure you're prepared and you get to work on time," Joel said.
According to the census, the number of outer borough residents leaving for work between midnight and 5 a.m. increased by more than 13% from 2013-2018.
The number of people coming home during that same time increased by 3%.
"It makes sense to extend the MTA network, extend the transportation network, make more jobs and get more people benefits and just work things out, make it easier to get to work," Joel said.
As for Leconte, she hopes the MTA pilots the program on her route.
"If you could do it starting tomorrow, tonight, that would be perfect," she joked.
Right now, the MTA is seeking bids and has not outlined which routes will get the service. That's set to begin in June.
