MTA way off track Crew shortages

An MTA staffing shortage could derail New York’s push to lure workers back to their Manhattan offices — by fueling mass subway cancelations and overcrowded cars.

Last Wednesday marked a pandemic high of more than 2.5 million subway trips, according to the MTA — but transit dispatchers had to cancel 114 scheduled trips because they could not find anyone to drive, internal records obtained by The Post show.

A lack of subway operators or conductors forced the cancellation of 5,355 trains through the first 18 days of June — already more than four times the number of canceled services in June 2020.

More than 8,000 scheduled trips were canceled in May, the internal files show, with June on pace to record more than 8,700 canceled trains.

In pre-pandemic times, only about 500 of the MTA’s more than 200,000 monthly scheduled trips were canceled because of a lack of workers, sources said.

Compounding the problem, officials have now been

forced to spread out the trains that do make it out of the terminal, sources said — which increases wait times and crowding.

“The subway’s convenience hinges on frequent service,” said Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance. “Without it, people will choose other modes or continue working from home.”

Insiders say the shortage stems from the pandemic, which killed more than 150 transit workers and spurred hundreds to retire.

Transit officials also instituted agencywide hiring and wage freezes as they mulled massive budget cuts due to depleted ridership.

“The hiring hasn’t kept pace with regular attrition, let alone the attrition because of COVID,” said Eric Loegel, Transport Workers Union Local 100 Vice President for Rapid Transit Operations.