MTA

17.6 million fewer vehicles have entered Manhattan since congestion pricing launched this year

Photo by Koon Chakhatrakan on Unsplash

September 10, 2025

17.6 million fewer vehicles have entered Manhattan since congestion pricing launched this year

By Aaron Ginsburg

Congestion pricing is (still) working. According to Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA officials, 2.7 million fewer vehicles entered Manhattan below 61st Street in August, a 14 percent drop that matched June for the largest reduction recorded so far in 2025. The positive data comes about a month before a scheduled federal court hearing in October, where the Trump administration’s attempt to end the tolling system will be decided. Since the program began in January, the number of vehicles entering the zone is down 12 percent, with 87,000 fewer trips each day and 17.6 million fewer vehicles compared to last year.
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Tracks Bar opens in Grand Central Madison

Credit: Ray Raimundi/MTA on Flickr

September 3, 2025

Tracks Bar opens in Grand Central Madison

By Aaron Ginsburg

Penn Station's popular Tracks Raw Bar & Grill has found a new home in Grand Central Terminal. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Tuesday that the eatery opened on the concourse level of Grand Central Madison, Long Island Rail Road's new east side terminal, becoming its first restaurant. Tracks will keep its current West 31st Street location and is also preparing to open a new location inside Penn Station.
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Penn Station revamp to begin in late 2027, Trump says

Photo by Don Ramey Logan on Wikimedia

August 28, 2025

Penn Station revamp to begin in late 2027, Trump says

By Aaron Ginsburg

Construction on the long-delayed revamp of Penn Station will start in late 2027, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said proposals will be accepted starting in October for the redevelopment of the busy train hall, with a goal to start construction in two years. The news comes after the feds put Amtrak in control of the project over Gov. Kathy Hochul in April. It's unclear how much the project will now cost under the updated timeline and possibly new design, but previous estimates from the MTA listed a $7 billion price tag.
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Federal Transit Administration again threatens MTA funds over safety risks

Retrofitting the platform at the Broadway Junction L train station. Photo courtesy of MTA/Megan Armas on Flickr

August 20, 2025

Federal Transit Administration again threatens MTA funds over safety risks

By Devin Gannon

President Donald Trump's administration is once again threatening to withhold funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on Tuesday accused the agency of using "flawed analytical approaches" in a safety plan and said it fails to reflect actual safety risk to subway workers. The FTA required the MTA to develop a new safety plan after a subway track worker was struck and killed by a train in 2023 and another worker was seriously injured the following year. The feds are threatening to withhold up to 25 percent of the financial assistance given to the MTA if safety is not improved for workers.
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Second Avenue Subway extension moves ahead in Harlem with $2B contract

106th Street. Rendering courtesy of the MTA

August 18, 2025

Second Avenue Subway extension moves ahead in Harlem with $2B contract

By Devin Gannon

East Harlem is one major step closer to having better subway access for the first time since the 1940s. The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday approved a nearly $2 billion tunnel-boring contract for the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway, which extends the Q train from 96th Street to 125th Street. The tunneling contract marks the largest awarded in agency history.
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Track work to disrupt 4, 5, and 6 subway service for two weekends this month

Credit: Billie Grace Ward on Flickr

August 8, 2025

Track work to disrupt 4, 5, and 6 subway service for two weekends this month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Riders on the 4, 5, and 6 subway lines are in for two weekends of major service disruptions this month. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday announced track work will shut down service south of Grand Central–42nd Street from 11:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday on the weekends of August 15 through 18 and August 22 through 25. Crews will be replacing the concrete beneath switches north of 14th Street.
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Clark Street station reopens after hotel awning collapse

The Hotel St. George Awning before collapse. Image via WikiCommons

August 5, 2025

Clark Street station reopens after hotel awning collapse

By Aaron Ginsburg

Subway service has been restored at the Clark Street station in Brooklyn Heights following the collapse of a concrete awning on Sunday. A video posted to social media by Council Member Lincoln Restler captured the moment the 15-by-20-foot awning on Henry Street came crashing down over the station entrance. Service was suspended at the station after the Department of Buildings (DOB) had found a similar structure above another entrance unsafe. As of Tuesday morning, the vacate order was lifted, and subway service was restored.
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MTA awards $166M design contract for Interborough Express

Credit: MTA / Trent Reeves on Flickr

July 31, 2025

MTA awards $166M design contract for Interborough Express

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Interborough Express is one step closer to bridging numerous transit-deprived neighborhoods across Brooklyn and Queens, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday approved the project’s full design. At its monthly board meeting, the MTA awarded a nearly $166 million design contract to the joint engineering venture Jacobs/HDR, according to amNY. The two-year agreement will begin preliminary design development and includes a "comprehensive scope of work"—such as surveys, geotechnical and environmental investigations, and structural inspections—to move the project forward.
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NYC subway and bus fare will likely rise to $3 in 2026

Credit: Patrick J. Cashin / Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Flickr

July 31, 2025

NYC subway and bus fare will likely rise to $3 in 2026

By Aaron Ginsburg

The price to ride New York City subways and buses will likely increase to $3 in January, MTA officials said during the agency's monthly board meeting on Wednesday. Originally planned for August, the proposed fare hike was delayed to allow for a required public comment period. The increase will coincide with the end of MetroCard sales as the MTA transitions fully to its OMNY tap-and-go system. While the increase is widely expected to pass, it still requires final approval from the MTA board following public hearings this fall.
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G train signal upgrades delayed until 2029

Credit: Steve on Flickr

July 29, 2025

G train signal upgrades delayed until 2029

By Aaron Ginsburg

G train riders may have to wait an additional two years for long-promised signal upgrades that would speed up service. The $624 million project aims to replace the line’s 1930s-era signal system with communications-based train control (CBTC). Work is scheduled to be completed north of Hoyt-Schermerhorn by the end of 2027, and between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Church Avenue by 2028. However, the upgraded system won’t be activated until 2029, due to delays in installing 5G radio technology in subway cars—a requirement for CBTC to function across both trains and tracks, agency officials said during an MTA committee meeting Monday.
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Popular Articles

NYC subway hits 4 million riders three days straight, first time since 2019

Credit: Matthew Stephenson on Unsplash

July 23, 2025

NYC subway hits 4 million riders three days straight, first time since 2019

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's subway system surpassed four million riders for three consecutive summer days for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that from Tuesday, July 15 through Thursday, July 17, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority recorded 4,046,610, 4,029,692, and 4,121,751 riders, respectively—the last figure marking a new post-pandemic summer ridership high. The milestone came during the same week as near record-breaking rainfall on Monday, July 14, with transit crews working overnight to quickly restore service.
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12 more NYC subway stations to get accessibility upgrades

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

July 23, 2025

12 more NYC subway stations to get accessibility upgrades

By Aaron Ginsburg

A dozen more New York City subway stations will receive accessibility upgrades under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 2025-2029 capital plan. Announced Tuesday, upgrades include new elevators and other ADA-accessible features. The MTA says the new plan aims to make at least 60 percent more stations accessible and ensure that 70 percent of all subway trips begin or end at an accessible station. The accessibility projects are a result of a lawsuit settled by the MTA that required 95 percent of all stations to be accessible by 2055.
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MTA has installed platform barriers at more than 50 NYC subway stations

Platform barriers at the Park Place 2/3 station. Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

July 21, 2025

MTA has installed platform barriers at more than 50 NYC subway stations

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has installed platform barriers at dozens of subway stations in New York City to prevent people from falling onto the tracks. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA announced last week that 56 stations across the five boroughs now have the barriers, with a goal of over 100 stations by the end of the year.
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NYC transit on pace for record-breaking year of ridership and performance

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

July 14, 2025

NYC transit on pace for record-breaking year of ridership and performance

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City Transit is "on track" to have its best on-time performance on record. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is on pace for a record-breaking year, with ridership and on-time service improving across New York City Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad during the first half of 2025. Customer satisfaction has also increased across all three agencies, while major crimes in the subway system have dropped 3.2 percent compared to the same period last year, and nearly 10 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
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NYC subway fare hike delayed, but will likely increase to $3 by year’s end

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

July 1, 2025

NYC subway fare hike delayed, but will likely increase to $3 by year’s end

By Aaron Ginsburg

Your standard New York City transit fare could top $3 by the end of the year. As part of a budget approved last year, the MTA is planning a 4 percent increase for subway and bus fares. Although originally planned to take effect in August, the hike will likely be delayed, as it must first go through a mandatory public comment period, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said during the agency's monthly board meeting. As reported by Gothamist, the increase is expected to coincide with the MTA’s phaseout of MetroCard sales—a major step in the system’s transition to OMNY.
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Policy

G train to shut down on select nights and weekends this summer

Image via WikiCommons

June 30, 2025

G train to shut down on select nights and weekends this summer

By Aaron Ginsburg

G train riders are in for another summer of service disruptions. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced last week that G train service will be suspended between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avenues on select weeknights and weekends from July 14 through August 18, as work continues to upgrade the line’s 1930s-era signal system. The line partially shut down for six weeks last summer as part of the $368 million modernization project, which will make the G the third subway line to be fully converted to Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling.
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Queens bus network overhaul rolls out

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

June 27, 2025

Queens bus network overhaul rolls out

By Aaron Ginsburg

Attention Queens residents: You may want to double-check if your local bus stop still exists. On Sunday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will launch phase one of its Queens bus network redesign—the most significant overhaul in the system’s 70-year history, affecting all but three of the borough’s bus routes. More than six years in the making, the redesign aims to improve transit equity, speed up commutes, strengthen connections to subways and rail, and enhance overall service for the borough’s roughly 800,000 daily riders.
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70,000 new homes could be built along Interborough Express with zoning changes

View of the Bay Ridge Branch, which would be incorporated in the proposed Interborough Express. Adjacent to the Fort Hamilton Parkway station. Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

June 27, 2025

70,000 new homes could be built along Interborough Express with zoning changes

By Aaron Ginsburg

More than 70,000 new homes could be built within a half-mile of the proposed Interborough Express (IBX) train line through land-use changes. Outlined in an analysis released Thursday by the New York Building Congress, and first reported by the New York Times, implementing land use changes could lead to the development of tens of thousands of new homes within a 10-minute walk of the 19 stops along the 14-mile light rail line, with the potential to exceed 100,000 units over a decade. However, these changes would face many obstacles, as the IBX will run through diverse neighborhoods with varying residential densities and local willingness to welcome new homes.
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MTA to boost A and L subway service this fall

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

June 24, 2025

MTA to boost A and L subway service this fall

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) plans to increase service on the A and L lines to better accommodate riders during peak hours. At a Monday committee meeting, officials proposed adding six extra round trips across the two lines and shifting some weekend L train service from early morning to late night, when ridership is typically higher. Set to begin in November, the changes include one extra round trip on both the A train’s Lefferts Boulevard and Far Rockaway branches, and four more round trips on the L line during the morning rush.
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4, 5, and G subway lines to get expanded cell service

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

May 29, 2025

4, 5, and G subway lines to get expanded cell service

By Aaron Ginsburg

More subway riders will soon no longer have to wait until their train reaches the next station to get cell service. During the MTA’s monthly committee meetings on Wednesday, CEO and Chair Janno Lieber announced that 5G coverage will be added to the 4 and 5 train tunnels between Bowling Green in Manhattan and Borough Hall. Expanded service is also planned for the G line between Court Square and Hoyt-Schermerhorn. Both projects are expected to be completed within one to two years, according to Lieber.
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Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from ending congestion pricing

Credit: André Eusébio on Unsplash

May 28, 2025

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from ending congestion pricing

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has scored a legal win against the Trump administration as the battle over congestion pricing continues. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday blocking the administration from withholding federal funding for New York transit projects, which it had threatened if the MTA didn’t end the program by May 28. Liman ruled that the federal government cannot withhold any funding until the MTA’s lawsuit over the toll program is resolved.
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MTA proposes 684-unit development above future Second Avenue Subway terminus in East Harlem

Streetview of East 125th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, Map data © 2024 Google

May 15, 2025

MTA proposes 684-unit development above future Second Avenue Subway terminus in East Harlem

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority wants to rezone a block in East Harlem to allow for a nearly 700-unit residential building above the future terminus of the Second Avenue Subway. The MTA filed plans on Tuesday to rezone the south side of East 125th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, where the station for the last stop on the Q line will eventually open as part of the Second Avenue Subway extension. As first reported by Crain's, the MTA plans to partner with a private developer to build an apartment tower with up to 684 units on the block's west side, an MTA-owned property.
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Queensboro Bridge to open separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians

Credit: David Wilson on Flickr

May 13, 2025

Queensboro Bridge to open separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Queensboro Bridge will finally have separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians, starting this weekend. Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced that the bridge’s north outer roadway is now a dedicated bike lane and the south outer roadway, a pedestrian-only path. Originally announced in 2021, the project was expected to open in March, but was abruptly delayed by the mayor, who required a "full briefing" before the path could open, as Streetsblog reported.
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A train service to the Rockaways will resume this month

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit on Flickr

May 9, 2025

A train service to the Rockaways will resume this month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Just in time for summer, A train service to the Rockaways will resume later this month following a four-month shutdown. On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that regular service will return on May 19, restoring subway access for the more than 9,000 daily commuters who travel in and out of the Rockaways. The shutdown, which began in January, allowed the agency to strengthen infrastructure against extreme weather and repair viaducts and bridges damaged during Hurricane Sandy.
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New York to open 24/7 homeless outreach centers in subway stations

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit on Flickr

May 2, 2025

New York to open 24/7 homeless outreach centers in subway stations

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York will open a network of 24-hour "welcome centers" in the subway system, where social workers will help connect homeless New Yorkers with supportive services and shelter. As first reported by Crain's, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office plans to open up to five of these facilities in subway stations to assist people struggling with mental health issues who have taken up residence in the transit system. The initiative is part of a $40 million investment in the state budget to fund outreach teams to build relationships with the unhoused and connect them with aid.
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