NYC subway gets ‘group station managers’ to ensure clean stations

Though his comprehensive 10-year Fast Forward plan to fix the ailing subway system remains unfunded, New York City Transit president Andy Byford is working on “quick wins” to improve what he can in the meantime—including ensuring that stations are cleaner.

On Tuesday, Byford introduced a new team of station managers that will be charged with maintaining and cleaning the system’s many stations. This new program was triggered by a trip to the 1 line’s Marble Hill-225th Street station in the Bronx, where neglected bird droppings led Byford to act, reports the New York Daily News. According to Byford, there were conflicting reports from station agents and various departments within the MTA as to who was actually responsible for getting the mess cleaned up.

Going forward, there will be 23 group station managers with four district customer service managers. A single group station manager will be responsible for overseeing maintenance, cleaning, and passenger services in up to 25 stations across four districts. Additionally, each station’s group will have its own email address posted so commuters can submit feedback or complaints. There’s also a new chief station officer overseeing the program for NYCT.

According to the MTA, Byford himself was a station manager for the Underground in London before moving on to manage the transit system in Toronto.

• MTA to give subway stations more TLC under management overhaul [New York Daily News]