MTA Launches Program Allowing Subway Station Agents to Assist Passengers Outside of Booths

As part of a new MTA plan to increase ridership, station agents are leaving their token booths to interact with straphangers and offer support on platforms and mezzanines. This marks the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that agents can interact with customers outside the booths. The initiative is not system-wide, but the agency hopes the new underground amiability, combined with an influx of cops working overtime in the system to deter crime, will get the system back to its pre-pandemic weekday ridership of 5.5 million straphangers a day, up from its current 3.9 million passengers.