Subway Delays Hit Low-Income New Yorkers the Hardest, Report Says

NEW YORK — Most New Yorkers have been affected by the subway crisis at some point. But the constant delays weigh more heavily on low-income riders, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

It is a maxim of city life: Apartments and homes with good subway access tend to cost more. That means higher incomes are linked to shorter commutes and lower incomes to longer commutes, according to the report.

So when the system inevitably melts down, low-income New Yorkers are more likely to be swept up in delays.

“Lower-income people tend to have longer commute times, and in turn have more opportunities to face extensive delays,” said Nicole Gorton, senior research analyst at the New York Fed.

The report said that subway riders with the longest commutes tend to have fewer backup options, especially when an alternate line is often far away. Commuters who work night shifts or other odd hours also are more likely to encounter disruptions for planned maintenance work.

Khacia Glasgow, a student who lives in the Midwood neighborhood in Brooklyn, said her commute to Manhattan by bus and subway can take nearly an hour and a half. Last semester, she missed a final exam because of a subway delay. People who live in wealthier neighborhoods are closer to Manhattan, she said, and have other options, like walking.

“Working class or poorer people — we’re getting pushed farther and farther out, so it definitely impacts us more,” Glasgow said while riding the No. 4 train Wednesday.

A year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared the subway to be in a state of emergency, service has not improved in a significant way. On Wednesday, there were delays on several lines — the No. 7 line had signal problems in Queens; the B and Q lines had a stalled train in Brooklyn.

The on-time rate for weekday trains is about 66 percent, down from about 85 percent in 2012, according to statistics from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state-controlled agency that oversees the subways. Officials acknowledge that major weekday incidents, which delay 50 or more trains, have been “stubbornly high.” There were 85 major subway incidents in May, compared with 75 in May 2017. Incidents can include problems with signals, tracks, power and sick passengers.

The delays have had major consequences for New Yorkers, from lost wages to missed doctor appointments and extra costs for taxis.

Giselle Beltre, who lives in Morris Park in the Bronx, said she is delayed by the subway three or four times a week. She worries about having to pay a fee if she does not pick up her 6-year-old son from day care on time.

“Sometimes if I’m late for that, there’s penalties,” she said.

Last summer, the authority began a short-term rescue plan to make immediate repairs. The subway’s new leader, Andy Byford, also proposed a long-term plan to fix the subway that could cost $19 billion for the first five years. That plan includes installing new signals on some of the busiest lines at a quicker pace.

On Wednesday, Byford said the two rescue plans would help to restore faith in the system.

“These programs are our ironclad commitment to improve service and ensure that our transit system continues to be one of the great equalizers for all New Yorkers,” Byford said in a statement in response to the Federal Reserve’s report.

The report also said that neighborhoods with lower household incomes were more likely to have longer periods of unreliable service during the morning commute. Many of the neighborhoods with areas that have poor subway service were in the Bronx and Brooklyn, including East New York in Brooklyn and Eastchester in the Bronx.

New Yorkers who work fixed shifts, like fast food workers, face harsher consequences when they are delayed by the subway, said David R. Jones, a Transportation Authority board member and president of the Community Service Society of New York, an antipoverty nonprofit.

“Byford’s plan will be helpful to the system as a whole, but particularly for low-wage workers who have to be somewhere on time or they can lose their job or get docked pay,” Jones said.

Earlier this month, New York City approved a new program to offer half-price MetroCards to low-income New Yorkers. The MetroCard program will help struggling riders, Jones said, but they will still be subjected to frequent delays unless state lawmakers secure funding for Byford’s plan.

The subway has also become an issue in the governor’s race. Cynthia Nixon, who is challenging Cuomo in the Democratic primary, said in a statement, “This report solidified what we’ve long known. Cuomo prioritized his donors and pet projects over the subway and now working people are suffering.”

Peter Ajemian, a spokesman for Cuomo, said, “The governor is laser-focused on ensuring every New Yorker has equal access to reliable mass transit.”

He noted that Cuomo proposed congestion pricing — charging drivers coming into Manhattan’s busiest neighborhoods — to pay for an overhaul of the subway and had ensured that the short-term rescue plan was fully funded.

Riders are desperate for solutions. Lidwin Toussaint, who lives in Flatbush in Brooklyn, said he leaves home extra early to make it to work in Manhattan by 9 a.m. He recently had to leave the subway during a delay and pay $35 for an Uber ride.

“If I didn’t have to take the subway,” he said, “I wouldn’t take the subway.”