MTA New York Metropolis Transit President Demetrius Crichlow talking in regards to the Queens bus community redesign in June 2025.
Marc A. Hermann / MTA
Once I took this job practically a 12 months in the past, I had two priorities – security and repair. As president of New York Metropolis Transit, I used to be going to do every little thing in my energy to make the transit system safer, not just for our tens of millions of day by day riders, but additionally the tens of hundreds of workers who hold this Metropolis transferring. And I used to be going to do it whereas working the absolute best service.
Greater than 11 months later, I’m happy with the outcomes our partnership with the NYPD has delivered. This previous summer season was the most secure underground in a era, and whereas even one crime is simply too many, the pattern is encouraging.
Equally encouraging are the enhancements we’re seeing in service reliability. Subway on-time efficiency this summer season was on par with our Could report of 85%. These beneficial properties have been helped by the expanded rollout of recent, extra reliable R211 practice automobiles to extra strains, together with the B in July. We additionally changed the whole fleet of 50-year-old automobiles on the Staten Island Railway with fashionable new R211S fashions.
The subway tends to steal the highlight — it’s a New York icon in spite of everything. Simply ask Cardi B, who just lately lent her voice to new station bulletins. However our work covers all modes, and that features the large efforts to enhance bus service. The bus community is a crucial technique of transit, carrying greater than 1,000,000 riders daily. It calls for our consideration.
As I look forward to my subsequent 12 months on this job, I’m decided to work with our companions on the NYC Division of Transportation to get our buses transferring sooner. We all know what must be accomplished – create extra bus lanes and busways and implement the foundations to maintain them clear.
The eight miles of bus lanes alongside Hillside Avenue have been an enormous assist to the latest Queens Bus Community Redesign, and I’m thrilled that NYCDOT is transferring ahead with work on Flatbush Avenue, proper within the coronary heart of downtown Brooklyn. Heart-running lanes and bus boarding islands will allow sooner and safer service for 132,000 day by day bus riders alongside the whole hall, making it that a lot simpler to catch a present on the Brooklyn Academy of Music or buy groceries on the Atlantic Terminal Mall.
We are able to and will carry these initiatives to extra routes, and I’m desperate to just do that. With this unimaginable crew in place at Transit and a powerful partnership with the Metropolis, I’m assured much more will get accomplished for New Yorkers because the months roll on.
Demetrius Crichlow is MTA New York Metropolis Transit president.
