The New York City subway system has returned to full 24-hour service as of Monday morning for the first time in over a year.
On May 6th, 2020 the subway system had been closed nightly from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. for enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of the subway due to coronavirus. On February 22, 2021, the closure was reduce to 2 to 4 a.m. nightly. Now the subway is fully operational round the clock but MTA plans to continue cleaning throughout the day and night.
Governor Andrew Cuomo also announced four pop-up vaccination sites at MTA station stops will continue operating through Saturday, May 22 following the success of the pilot program. The stops include Penn Station, Grand Central, East 180th Street in the Bronx, and Broadway Junction in Brooklyn. The pop-up sites at these four stops, which began operating on May 12, have administered 3,497 doses from May 12 to May 15.
The sites serve up to 300 walk-ins per day on a first come, first served basis utilizing the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The reopening of the subway system will benefit New Yorkers especially those that work late shifts or need to get to work early in the morning.
According to numbers released by MTA, ridership is down significantly on all forms of public transit in NYC due to the coronavirus.
Subway ridership (including Staten Island Railway) as of last Thursday compared to pre-pandemic day.
| Thursday, 5/13/21 | 2,163,794 | -63.5% |
Bus ridership
| Thursday, 5/13/21 | 1,114,128 | -52% |
Long Island Railroad
| Thursday, 5/13/21 | 103,000 | -68% |
Metro-North Railroad
| Thursday, 5/13/21 | 80,000 | -72% |
Even traffic on NYC bridges and tunnels is down.
| Thursday, 5/13/21 | 918,259 | -10.0% |
