The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced on Wednesday with great fanfare that for the first time since the emergence of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in December, the number of Subway users exceeded 3 million on a regular day of the week. But this achievement is being overshadowed by another significant increase, that of serious crimes in the entire public transport system.
And it is precisely after the MTA announced the increase in users, the Department of Police of the City of New York (NYPD) reported the case of a teenager of 20 years who was stabbed in the arm inside the 1 train at the 181st Street station in Washington Heights.
The Uniformed specified that a man attacked the young woman, who was traveling on the train with her boyfriend, after she ignored him after asking him the time. The event occurred around 12: 30 am this Thursday. The victim was taken to New York-Presbyterian-Columbia Hospital in stable condition.
This event is part of a chain of crimes that occurred in the Subway just this week. On Wednesday, the NYPD reported the case of a man who attempted to rape a 21 year-old woman in Canal Street Station in Lower Manhattan, in an event that occurred around 10: 20 am
In this case, the suspect randomly attacked the victim who was traveling on the E train by putting a hand down her pants, and although she tried to free herself, the man grabbed her again and pushed her against the corner of the car before attempting to rape her, according to the Police.
Several crimes have been reported in the public transport system since the beginning of 2022, after the last year ended with a spike in violent crime, including rape, assault and homicide, not seen in 21 years, since the decade of the 90.
Users total 3,010,2021
And while there is a rise in crime in the Subway, the number of users who are returning to the system after the pandemic is also increasing, with 3,010,2021 passengers who used the trains last Tuesday, the highest number since 3 million were reported last 17 of December of 2021, according to figures released by the MTA.
“The number of passengers is much more strong in discretionary periods, on weekends and during the night. Exceeds 70 percent before COVID. So the message is that when New Yorkers have a place to go, they feel comfortable using public transportation,” MTA President Janno Lieber said of the ridership increase, in an appearance on NY1 News.
Meanwhile, Governor Kathy Hochul, who on Wednesday announced that she would not renew the mask mandate in businesses, but it will remain in force in the Subway, reacted to the rise in users by indicating: “That this passenger record is a clear signal: New York is coming out of the omicron increase and we have numbers to prove it”.
User increase
- 3,010,2021 passengers used the Subway last Tuesday.
- 3,118,492 there was the 17 of last December, the last day in which the 3 million are exceeded before the apparition of Omacron.
- 2,12,492 users there was the 27 of December, the lowest day of users during the rise of Ómicron.