The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will reopen 24 bathrooms at 12 subway stations on May 2. The 12 stations with reopened bathrooms are the second group in New York City (NYC) Transit’s phased reopening of subway bathrooms since they were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bathrooms, one male and one female at 12 stations, will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a one-hour closure for cleaning from noon to 1 p.m.
“Following a successful launch, we felt comfortable moving forward with the next group of stations,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey. “This phased approach has allowed us to develop a plan that ensures bathrooms stay clean for customers who need them. The Stations Department has done a great job in keeping bathrooms and stations cleaner as we strive to deliver faster, cleaner and safer service.”
NYC Transit began to reopen bathrooms on Jan. 9 at nine stations. As part of the reopening, the agency tracked bathroom usage, as well as cleanliness and safety concerns. NYC Transit implemented a “flush counter” that found the men’s bathrooms had three times as many flushes as the women’s bathrooms, with more than 27,000 flushes compared to 8,400 flushes.
Overall, the bathrooms have been used more than 35,000 times since they were reopened in January, and of the thousands of recorded uses, there have been no significant safety issues or cleanliness complaints from customers or employees. Since the reopening, none of the bathrooms have had to close for maintenance repairs.
Prior to the first phase of reopening, the MTA took advantage of the closures of bathrooms to perform needed maintenance to the facilities, including:
- New motion activated faucets
- New fixtures (hand dryers, dispensers)
- New/painted privacy panels
- New lighting
- Tile grouting
- New door signs reflecting hours of operation
- Ceiling painting
- Deep cleaning
Following the second phase, more than 30 percent of bathrooms in the subway system will be reopened.
