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Riding the train today? Bring a book.
An MTA pilot program that has declared a slew of historically lower-ridership days — such as Columbus Day and New Year’s Eve — “minor holidays” is making its debut, a change that will provide fewer trains on seven lines and an initial savings of $200,000 a year.
Other days that will see service reductions include Good Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Day, Christmas Eve and the three weekdays after Christmas when they fall Monday through Thursday.
On those days, the average wait for a train will be one to two minutes longer, according to the MTA’s estimates.
For now, the program is just being implemented on the numbered lines.
If it’s successful, the MTA will roll it out systemwide for “significant” savings, according to a report from the agency’s transit division.
But some subway watchdogs questioned if the service reductions were necessary, especially considering that they’re not doing that much for the MTA’s bottom line.
“If [the change] ends up reducing service and causing problems for people, you really have to question whether it’s worth it,” said William Henderson of the MTA’s Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee.
Fewer trains could lead to more crowding, considering many New Yorkers end up working on the minor holidays, Henderson said.
In addition, many of the designated service-reduction days are busy for other reasons, such as today’s Columbus Day Parade or the shopping that occurs the day after Thanksgiving, he said.
“For some of these minor holidays, I’m not sure how much of a decrease [in ridership] there really is,” Henderson said.
“This really needs to be watched carefully.”
The MTA said it plans to monitor the program for problems.
Its board voted last week to approve the service reductions.
According to the MTA’s ridership studies, the days selected have 75 percent or fewer riders than a typical weekday.
“In all cases, the reduction in service is smaller than the reduction in ridership,” according to the transit report given to the MTA board.
There will still be more trains than a typical holiday schedule, which is used on such days as Christmas and the Fourth of July.
Similar schedule reductions have been in place on buses for several years with good results, according to the report.