Passengers on the New York subway seem more concerned about safety than the possibility of catching Covid-19, according to a survey conducted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
In particular, 72% of users say they are very concerned about “crime and harassment”, while 64% say they are concerned about their health, 69% about wearing a mask, 60% about social distance and 55% about cleaning the cars.
“The data from our customer survey couldn’t be more clear: safety concerns are most important to current passengers and those who want to return to public transport. An overwhelming majority of 76% of customers say they feel safer when they feel at home. in the system in uniform. ”MTA spokesperson Abbey Colling said in a statement to Efe.
The MTA released this survey after the daily subway passenger count exceeded two million users for the first time on April 8, a figure that is still well below the 5.5 million people who used to commonly use the subway. From the pandemic, but well above that of a year ago, when the number of travelers plummeted by 90% due to the expansion of Covid-19.
“We know that when our passengers feel safe from crime and safe from Covid, they will return to public transport and return to the city, and we are committed to continuously addressing these issues, to reduce the number of passengers per day. keep breaking milestones, after the reopening of New York, ”Colling added.
In recent months, several attacks have been reported on stations and wagons in this mode of transport.
The survey shows that user satisfaction with regard to crime and bullying in the wagons decreased by 16% to 26% and in the stations by 8.2% to 34%.
As for former metro users, 36% say they have not returned to the metro because of their sense of insecurity due to crimes and harassment.
Vaccination in New York is progressing at a good pace with a quarter of residents vaccinated, while authorities continue to promote the reopening of sectors and businesses that have been closed until now.
Wedding halls, concerts in closed places or leisure and entertainment centers can all open their doors in the city, albeit with limited capacity, which has also contributed to the reactivation of public transport.