MTA reporting record high on-time buses, subways and trains

Monday, January 30, 2023
FINANCIAL DISTRICT, Manhattan (WABC) -- As more people return to work, the MTA has some good news for people who use public transportation.

The subway's on-time performance is the best in a decade with buses, subways, and the LIRR reporting fewer delays.

Riders have noticed that their trains are arriving on schedule and that they're getting where they need to go, on-time most of the time.

"I've lived in New York City my whole life," one straphanger said. "It's the best that it's ever been."



The MTA released its latest on-time performance data for the subways and the commuter rail lines.

In January, subways were on-time 85% of the time while the LIRR ran on-time 96% of the time and a near-perfect 97% for Metro-North.

"This is the best performance ever by our commuter railroads except for at the very height of COVID," MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said. "When dare I say, nobody was riding. This is historic."

Welcome news for the agency which is still struggling to attract roughly one-third of riders who have yet to return since the pandemic.

Officials say the average speed for buses is now 2% faster, despite more traffic in the city's streets.

The MTA confirmed today that Wi-Fi service has been eliminated onboard buses, after six years. Of the 1.4 million daily riders, barely 33,000 actually used it.

The decision will save the agency just over $3 million a year.

"Our customers told us what they thought of it-they didn't use it," Lieber said. "Only a tiny percentage of our customers were using it and we don't want to waste money."

Expanding Wi-Fi underground is another matter.

MTA officials say the entire subway system-all 418 miles of tracks and tunnels-will have WiFi within 10 years.

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