Reserve-a-ride?

MTA eyes subway bookings to aid distancing

“Your subway pole reservation awaits.”

That could be the new reality for straphangers as life in New York inches back to some kind of normal during the coronavirus pandemic.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Pat Foye said Thursday the agency is considering a form of “Ticketmaster technology” that would require riders to book a slot on subway trains to ensure there’s enough space to social distance underground.

Transit honchos have for months grappled with what subway commutes will look like as the city’s economy reopens during the ongoing health crisis.

“Everything’s on the table in terms of getting this right. A reservation system is being explored in other systems around the country and around the world,” Foye said during a video conference hosted by Crain’s New York Business. “That is not something we’ve made a decision on. We are not close to making a decision.”

Foye noted that the size of New York City’s subway would make reservation-type ticketing difficult to implement. He said the idea hinges on the rollout of the agency’s new tap-and-pay OMNY system, which is scheduled to be in place at every station by the end of the year.

How reservations would be enforced is also unclear. The MTA last year estimated more than 150,000 riders evaded the subway fare every day, a factor that could undermine a reservation requirement.

Still, the grim reality of the pandemic has required officials to rethink how how people use the city’s normally crowded subway.

Gov. Cuomo last week said it would not be possible to practice social distancing on the subway at pre-pandemic ridership levels, and interim NYC Transit president Sarah Feinberg last month said she’s reached out to health experts to see if it’s advisable for people to stand less than six feet apart if they’re all wearing masks.

Over the last three weeks the MTA has tested out markings spaced six feet apart at two Manhattan subway stations to see if they have any behavior.

The agency also has devices on some of its buses and subway stations that automatically monitor crowds in real-time.

But Foye said the most important piece in reducing subway crowding is expanding service, which has been cut by roughly 30% over the last six weeks as COVID-19 has spread rapidly through the MTA’s workforce. At least 118 employees have died of the disease, and thousands more have been sickened.

“Increasing transit service when the governor begins to lift New York ‘on PAUSE’ downstate is going to be incredibly important,” said Foye. “It can’t happen without robust and reliable and safe service by the MTA.” effect on rider