Things are actually looking up for beleaguered straphangers
By Yoav Gonen
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 19, 2018
Straphangers might not have felt it, but there was a bit of good news buried in the perpetually dismal performance of the subways last month.
In September, the number of total train delays fell to the lowest point it’s been since February 2016 — with 63,841.
That was down more than 12,500 delays compared to September 2017, when the system recorded 76,355 slowdowns.
Weekday major incidents, which are unplanned delays that impact more than 50 trains, also fell in September relative to the same month last year — from 69 to 45 — a 35 percent drop.
Officials said that was the lowest number since the data was first measured in August 2017.
However, weekend major incidents climbed slightly since September of last year, from 7 to 10, the transit data shows.
“The September figures are very encouraging,” New York City Transit President Andy Byford told reporters following a speech at the New York Building Congress breakfast in midtown. “What I must deliver, and I’m very clear on this is, it can’t just be one month — we’ve got to show relentless improvement and I’m confident we’ll do that.”
He told the crowd at the midtown Hilton his top two priorities haven’t changed: securing money and political support for his ambitious, 10-year “Fast Forward” subway renovation plan.
The plan is estimate to cost $37 billion.
