NYC subway conductors report filthy and unsanitary conditions as the homeless take over during pandemic

Subway conductors in New York City say conditions have worsened as the homeless have taken over the few transportation lines still open, and are using them as toilets.

"There is an astronomical amount of homeless people now in the subway," said MTA train conductor Tramell Thompson said to WLNY-CBS.

"The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is now the Metropolitan Transmission Authority," he added. "They are transporting this virus."

The subway has remained open in order to provide service to essential workers like doctors and nurses, but conductors say this has allowed the homeless to move in and use the trains as shelters.

"Because we have less trains to work with, the homeless in the system congregate on fewer trains, so it's way more evident now than it's ever been," said a conductor who wished to remain anonymous. "It's causing a hazard to MTA employees and the people that we have to transport during this time."

'The trash, the feces, the urine'

Meanwhile, those who use the public transportation services worry they might be closed.

"I'm worried that they may shut it down because that's my only source of transportation to get to work," said Alene Bethel, who works as a nurse.

"So that's really my main concern, keep it sanitized, wearing my mask, that doesn't bother me so much, I'm a nurse, so I'm not afraid," she added.

At least 84 Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees have died from the coronavirus.

"The trash, the feces, the urine, is there," Thompson said. "It's just a very toxic, unsafe environment."

New York City has been one of the worst hit hotspots of the coronavirus, which many experts attribute to the high density living conditions. There have been more than 11,500 deaths in New York City contributed to the coronavirus, which accounts for more than a fifth of the total deaths in the United States.

Here's more about the filthy transportation system in NYC:

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