Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed state legislation that would have required subway trains in the city to operate with at least two workers at all times.

Most subway trains in the city consist of 10 cars, staffed by both an operator who drives the train, and a conductor who makes announcements and opens and closes doors.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed state legislation that would have required subway trains in the city to operate with at least two workers at all times

  • Most subway trains in the city consist of 10 cars, staffed by both an operator who drives the train, and a conductor who makes announcements and opens and closes doors

  • Several transit advocacy groups supported the veto, saying one-person train operation is the standard across the world
  • The Transportation Workers Union, however, strongly supports two-person crews, citing safety concerns

Shorter trains, like the G and the Times Square shuttle, only have an operator.

The bill passed by the state legislature would have permanently mandated both an operator and a conductor on all trains.

The MTA is interested in moving widely towards one-person train operation, OTPO.

The Citizens Budget Commission, Partnership for New York City, Regional Plan Association, Reinvent Albany, and the Transit Costs Project at the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management said in a joint statement that OPTO is the “global norm used by the vast majority of subway authorities across the world.”

“We strongly support efforts to provide New Yorkers with world-class public transit. This bill would have done the opposite by raising MTA operating costs and constraining the MTA’s ability to implement modern operating methods, adopt new technologies, and provide better service for riders,” the groups said.

In her own statement defending the veto, Hochul echoed the groups’ stance on OPTO safety and savings for the MTA.

“This bill would cost as much as $10 million annually, reducing service, and limiting the MTA’s ability to benefit from capital investments in modern rolling stock and signals,” Hochul said in a statement, in part.

The Transportation Workers Union, however, strongly supports two-person crews, citing safety concerns.

NY1 has reached out to the TWU for comment.