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Thanksgiving weekend is usually Busiest year of the year for U.S. airlines — Estimates from Transportation Security Administration officials 2.9 million travelers carrying stuffed turkeys It will take to the skies this Sunday and break daily records.
For a frequent flyer, this is a huge number. But for those who often take the subway, it’s peanuts.
Most weekdays, subway About the clock at the turnstile gate 4 million entries.city’s bus record more than 1.3 million With taps and swipes, commuter rail conductors punch and scan about 450,000 tickets every day.
That number will remain down from pre-pandemic levelsBut they trivialize what U.S. airlines consider a record trip.
This is often cited by transportation advocates who lament the dire state of New York’s mass transit system compared to the airport, which has undergone billions of dollars in renovations using state and federal funds over the past decade. It’s a power relationship.
“Even though Congress isn’t going home for the holidays, the MTA still provides nearly 7 million rides a day,” said Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Perlstein. “Now is a good time to appreciate our common infrastructure and renew our leaders’ commitment to investing in public transportation.”
2023 Thanksgiving Service Changes
Even if there is no such commitment, meetingfor New Yorkers staying in the city on vacation, the subway may prove its worth.
Subway construction is also expected to cause fewer service interruptions than during this period. Other holiday weekends. The MTA also plans several stops to perform track maintenance and upgrades.
A summary of the service changes is as follows:
- upon Thanksgivingsubways and buses will operate on a Sunday schedule, but there will be additional service on Sundays. 1 train and,42nd Street S Shuttle Early in the morning.Entrances and exits of some subway stations along the line Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade The route will be closed, as will roads in Manhattan. Please see here for the detail.
- Service at F train The stretch from Kings Highway in Brooklyn to Stilwell Avenue in Coney Island will be closed from Friday night until Monday morning for signal system upgrades.
- of Q line I won’t be driving south of Prospect Park this weekend.
- of M train There will be no service from Myrtle Broadway Station to Delancey Essex Station from 9:45pm on Friday until Monday morning. At Myrtle Broadway, transfer to the J train to Manhattan. Click here for details.
- Please check MTA’s Official 2023 Thanksgiving Schedule We’ll see more changes this weekend.
Still, barring a disaster, even New York’s aging subways are expected to carry millions more people than the airports.
curious commuter
Reader questions: Why doesn’t the B train run on weekends?
Our answer:
B train Already used But it wasn’t the same service that New Yorkers know today. Prior to 2001, the Brooklyn Branch of the B Line ran along what is now his D Line. The North Terminal of the B Line switches from the Bronx or Harlem to 21st Street-Queensbridge during some times of the week.
The MTA switched things up in 2001 when the city completed a three-year renovation of the Manhattan Bridge. While that work was going on, the B only ran on the north side of Herald Square. When full train service over the bridge resumed in 2004, the B was reinstated as a weekday express service between Brighton Beach and Bedford Park Boulevard.
The MTA says all B train stations are serviced by other lines, including Brooklyn’s Q and Manhattan’s D stations. But that explanation is unlikely to satisfy riders like Abigail, who rides his local Q train all weekend.
Want to send a question? Email cguse@wnyc.org or snessen@wnyc.org The subject line was “Commuters’ questions”.