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NYC subway station agents say so long to the booths this week
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Mar 28, 2023
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By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Mar 28, 2023
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More than 2,000 station agents will be stepping out of their subway booths starting Thursday, ending a decadeslong feature of the city’s transit system that has become obsolete.
Commuters will find free-roaming service agents outside their kiosks this week, to assist with a variety of customer service needs throughout the city’s stations, New York City Transit President Richard Davey said Tuesday. Those duties will include helping customers find their route, assisting subway riders with disabilities, and reporting on maintenance issues such as broken elevators.
Davey said the metal and glass enclosures will not be removed but workers can return there during breaks or whenever they see fit.
“All 2,200 of our station agents will be permanently out of the booths to provide customer service to all our subway stations across the system,” Davey said at a press conference at the Fulton Street station.
Station agents have continued to be confined to booths even as the central duty under the role — processing tokens for rides — became a thing of the past with the advent of the MetroCard.
The MetroCard itself is now in the process of being phased out and replaced with OMNY, a payment system linked to one’s smartphone or credit card.
Workers received additional training for the transition, which was previewed in December alongside the Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents station agents and other transit workers.
“We want to make this a safe environment,” Davey said. “Obviously having police in the stations as well is important, but as I’ve said, our station cleaners are out every day in the station environment, working, largely, very safely.”
Mayor Eric Adams directed more police to flood the transit system in October, which officials say has directly contributed to a decline in crime. Subway crime has decreased by 19% since the beginning of 2023, compared to the same time last year, according to NYPD figures announced in early March.
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Michelle Bocanegra
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