New York subway passengers appear to be more concerned about safety than the possibility of catching Covid-19, according to a survey by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
Specifically, 72% of users say they are very concerned about “crime and harassment”, while 64% say they are concerned about health security, 69% wearing a mask, 60% social distance and 55% for cleaning wagons. .
“The data from our customer survey could not be clearer: safety concerns are the most important for current passengers and those who want to return to public transport. An overwhelming majority of 76% of customers say that seeing the system uniform makes them feel safer. “MTA spokesman Abbey Colling said in a statement sent to Efe.
The MTA published this survey after the daily number of subway passengers exceeded two million users for the first time on April 8, a figure still well below 5.5 million people who regularly used the subway before the pandemic, but well over that of a year ago, when the number of passengers decreased by 90%, due to the expansion of Covid-19.
“We know that if our passengers feel safe from crime and safe from Covid, they will return to public transport and return to the city and we dedicate all our resources to continuously address these issues, to continue to increase the number of passengers. daily landmarks. after the day New York reopens, “Colling added.
In recent months, several attacks on stations and wagons in this mode of transport have been reported.
The survey shows that user satisfaction with crime and harassment in wagons decreased by 16% to 26%, and in stations decreased by 8.2% to 34%.
As for former subway users, 36% say they did not return to the subway because of their sense of insecurity due to crime and harassment.
Vaccination in New York is progressing at a good pace, with a quarter of its inhabitants vaccinated, while the authorities continue to favor the reopening of sectors and businesses that were closed until now.
Wedding halls, closed-door concerts or leisure and entertainment centers can already open their doors in the city, although with limited capacity, which has also contributed to the reactivation of public transport.