MTA New York Metropolis Transit President Demetrius Crichlow with MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber at a Dec. 19, 2024 press convention on the 14th Road station on the 1/2/3 traces in Greenwich Village.
Picture by Marc A. Hermann / MTA
My priorities for subway service as NYC Transit President are the identical as different New Yorkers’ – I would like it to be secure, quick, and environment friendly. The best metropolis on this planet calls for and deserves one of the best. This yr, I’m proud to say we’re delivering one of the best subway service in over a decade.
On-time efficiency (OTP) has improved each month this yr in comparison with 2024, and April was our greatest month in latest historical past, with 85% of weekday trains arriving on time. Delays are down, and efficiency, ridership, and buyer satisfaction are all on the rise. There’s all the time room for enchancment, however that is all value celebrating.
Don’t neglect, our system is 120 years outdated. Lots of the elements the subway depends on — from energy to indicators to rail automobiles – have been in use for many years. Some dates way back to the FDR administration! So, it takes fixed upkeep to maintain service operating easily 24 hours a day, 7 days every week. There’s a cause why so few of our world friends are open all evening, all yr.
Two traces stand out this yr for features, the 6 and the J. Below the management of Line Managers Daybreak Sobers and Mahamuda Ferdous, efficiency on the 6 is up over 10% versus final yr, whereas the J and Z trains have a mixed OTP of over 90% — one of the best we’ve ever seen.
How did we do it? By specializing in information and upkeep to run higher service.
On the 6, we applied progressive new ways to enhance schedules and higher dispatch trains. On the J, the Subways group wrote a brand new service plan that enables us to carry out important inspection and upkeep work extra effectively to scale back delays.
The objective is to stop incidents from taking place within the first place. Upkeep of Manner crews are changing observe sooner than ever earlier than. Particular bother spots within the system like error-prone indicators obtain further rounds of inspections to maintain them in good working order.
I’m extremely happy with the group that’s delivering traditionally sturdy subway service. This yr, we’ve welcomed new management in Senior Vice President Invoice Amarosa Jr. and Chief Officer Tom Calandrella on the Operations Management Middle. Like me, each come from multi-generational transit households. They’re lifelong New Yorkers, and so they’re getting huge issues executed for our riders.
We’re hardly resting on success. With essential investments within the new 2025-2029 Capital Plan – assume new subway automobiles and plenty of State of Good Restore work — I’m pushing the group to boost the bar and drive efficiency even greater within the years to return.
Demetrius Crichlow is MTA New York Metropolis Transit president.
