![\"worker](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/subway-cleaning-marc-a-hermann-mta.jpg\" "\\"Ask")
\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
An MTA cleaner wiping the floor at the Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport station in Queens.<\/p>\n
Marc A. Hermann \/ MTA<\/p>\n
amNewYork Metro, in conjunction with the MTA<\/a>, present \u201cAsk the MTA,\u201d a column where MTA officials answer your questions about transit service in New York City. If you have a question for the MTA about subways, buses, commuter rails and more, email\u00a0askthemta@amny.com.<\/a><\/p>\n Q: How often are subway cars cleaned? \u2013 <\/b>Ada F., Brooklyn Heights\u00a0<\/b>\n<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> All cars in service are continually cleaned at end terminals, with staff sweeping and mopping the floors and wiping down seats. Most are also sent for external washing once a week. \u00a0A more intensive deep clean happens every 72 days at one of our maintenance facilities. Before cars are put back into service after undergoing scheduled inspections, the interiors \u2013 wall surfaces, seats, door panels, and windows \u2013 are washed. Floors also get a thorough scrubbing to remove any grime, gum or dirt. <\/p>\n \u2013 Tom Tavolario, Deputy Chief, Department of Car Equipment, New York City Transit\n<\/p>\n Q: What are subway conductors pointing at when they stick their heads out the window after pulling into stations? \u2013 <\/b>Peggy S., Forest Hills<\/b>\n<\/p>\n A:<\/strong> They\u2019re pointing at black and white signs that we call \u201czebra boards.\u201d Those signs, which have been in use for over a hundred years, are installed mid-platform to indicate the spot where the train conductor\u2019s car should stop. When properly aligned, the board is directly in front of the conductor\u2019s window, letting them know that the entire train is next to the platform and that it\u2019s safe to open the doors. It\u2019s a simple gesture that goes a long way toward reinforcing safety. <\/p>\n \u2013 Bill Amarosa Jr., Senior Vice President of Subways, New York City Transit\n<\/p>\n Q: Why do MetroCards have a tiny hole and slanted edge as part of their design? \u2013 <\/b>George R., Kip\u2019s Bay\u00a0<\/b>\n<\/p>\n A:\u00a0The slanted edge is called a chamfer, and it helps ensure proper orientation and facilitates ease of swiping by aligning the card as riders insert it into fareboxes or swipe at a turnstile. The chamfer also helps visually impaired riders make sure they\u2019re swiping the card in the right direction.\u00a0The tiny hole is an optical trigger that ensures proper reading\/writing of the magnetic stripe in the farebox. <\/p>\n \u2013 Michael Ellinas, Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, New York City Transit\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An MTA cleaner wiping the floor at the Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport station in Queens. Marc A. Hermann…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":79800,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[54853,5229,54854,54855,54856,54857,9904,405,403,54858,5226,5225,5228,5227,54859,9907,54860,54861,54862,54863,54864,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,54865],"class_list":{"0":"post-79799","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-accessibility-features","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-bus-service","11":"tag-commuter-rail","12":"tag-fare-collection","13":"tag-metrocard-design","14":"tag-mta","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-new-york-city-transit","18":"tag-newyork","19":"tag-newyorkcity","20":"tag-ny","21":"tag-nyc","22":"tag-nyc-subways","23":"tag-public-transportation","24":"tag-subway-cleaning","25":"tag-subway-conductors","26":"tag-train-maintenance","27":"tag-transit-operations","28":"tag-transit-safety","29":"tag-united-states","30":"tag-united-states-of-america","31":"tag-unitedstates","32":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","33":"tag-us","34":"tag-usa","35":"tag-zebra-boards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114889473624409315","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}