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The new congestion pricing plan brought forward by New York Governor Kathy Hochul was put into effect earlier this week. The selling point of the plan was to reduce car traffic on the roads of Manhattan and generate revenue through tolls and more public transit riders. The plan says that funds generated will be used to update subway cars and make the experience better, but the main issue that needs to be addressed is safety on public transportation. International President of the Transport Workers Union John Samuelsen spoke with the WOR Morning Show about the dangers riders, and especially transit workers, face every day.
“It is not uncommon for there to be five assaults a week against New York City transit workers,” Samuelsen tells host Larry Mendte. “The assaults against transit workers are just unfathomable; that’s a true pandemic of the subway.”
Samuelsen believes this isn’t a bigger story due to who is being assaulted: “If it was happening to politicians, they would literally change laws, bring the army in.”
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