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MTA Workers Ring NYSE Opening Bell to Mark 24-Hour Subway Return

MTA Workers Ring NYSE Opening Bell to Mark 24-Hour Subway Return

Pat Foye, the head of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and front-line transit workers rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate a major step in the city’s reopening: the return of 24-hour subway service.

A little more than a year since New York’s subway closed for four hours overnight to clean and disinfect stations and trains, the system on Monday began providing all-day service, a vital need for hospital workers, restaurant staff and others who commute beyond the traditional work day.

New York on Wednesday is set to take another major step by lifting most capacity restrictions for restaurants, stores and cultural institutions.

The reopening is promising to bring more riders to the MTA’s network of subways, buses and commuter rail lines. Currently, weekday subway usage is down about 63% from pre-pandemic levels.

To help entice people back to the system, the MTA on Sunday launched a marketing campaign to remind New Yorkers the benefits of mass transit. Advertisements on subway entrances, buses, billboards, elevated overpasses and social media will highlight the system’s relative affordability and how it enables commuters to avoid vehicle traffic.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.