In the New York subway, safety worries more than the coronavirus

New York, USA

Subway passengers New York seem to be more concerned about safety than the possibility of get covid-19, according to a survey conducted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA, for its acronym in English).

Specifically, 72% of users say they feel very concerned about “crime and harassment“, while 64% claim to be concerned about their health security, 69% about wear a mask60% for social distance and 55% for cleaning the wagons.

“The data from our customer survey could not be clearer: Safety concerns are the most important for current passengers and for those looking to return to public transportation. An overwhelming majority of 76% of customers say that seeing uniformed in the system makes them feel safer, “said MTA spokesman Abbey Colling, in a statement sent to Efe.

The MTA published this survey after the daily number of subway passengers surpassed two million users for the first time on April 8, a figure still well below the 5.5 million people who habitually used the subway before. of the pandemic, but well above that of a year ago, when the number of travelers plummeted by 90%, due to the expansion of the 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 are dedicating all resources to continually address these issues, to continue to break the milestones for number of passengers per day. after day as New York reopens, “Colling added.

Crime and harassment

In recent months, several attacks have been reported at stations and wagons in this mode of transport.

The survey shows that user satisfaction in relation to crime and harassment in the wagons fell by 16% to 26% and in the stations it fell by 8.2% to 34%.

As for former metro users, 36% say they have not returned to the subway due to their feeling of insecurity due to the crimes 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 had been closed until now.

Wedding halls, concerts in closed places or leisure and entertainment centers may already open their doors in the city, although with limited capacity, which has also contributed to the reactivation of public transport.

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