NEW YORK — New Yorkers will soon have to pay once again to ride the bus as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the agency will resume fare collections and front-door boarding beginning Aug. 31.
The resumption, which applies to all local and select-bus service buses, is a “crucial step” to support the reopening of NYC, Interim President of the New York City Transit Authority Sarah Feinberg said Tuesday.
Feinberg acknowledged the MTA’s bus revenue and bus ridership indicated a loss of about $431 million, based on regular pre-pandemic ridership.
Had the MTA collected bus fares from people who boarded buses over the last few months, the fares would have come up to about $159 million.
“The fact is we do not operate a free service as much as we may want to and we can’t afford to lose out on these revenues at this moment.”
Front-door boarding is anticipated to add up to 40% more space on buses, which would enhance a commuter’s ability to socially distance.
Barriers of chains and vinyl curtains that were in place amid the pandemic will be taken down to increase social distancing opportunities.
Despite resuming front-door boarding, the MTA assures bus operators they will remain safe.
To increase separation between bus operators and drivers, the seat directly behind the bus operator will be blocked off and the white line on the bus floor, which passengers are advised to stay behind, will be further away from the bus operator, according to the MTA.
Polycarbonate sliders designed and assembled inside the MTA, and vinyl curtains to fully protect bus operators, continue to be installed on 4,800 local buses and are expected to be completed in the fall, the agency said.
As NYC continues to reopen, the MTA has seen an increase in the number of people using public transit.
On Aug. 14, bus ridership reached more than 1.3 million riders, the highest ridership has been since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the MTA.
As more riders come back, they can plan their trip by using the new capacity tracking feature on the MYmta app, unveiled last month, that allows customers to track in real time the number of passengers on an arriving bus.
"bus" - Google News
August 19, 2020 at 01:17AM
https://ift.tt/2YczdFH
MTA resumes fare collection, front-door boarding on all local. SBS buses beginning Aug. 31 - WPIX 11 New York
"bus" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rp2JL3
https://ift.tt/3aT1Mvb
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "MTA resumes fare collection, front-door boarding on all local. SBS buses beginning Aug. 31 - WPIX 11 New York"
Post a Comment