MTA riders should know within 24 hours of a bedbug sighting, two Brooklyn lawmakers said Thursday.
Two Brooklyn lawmakers are calling for more transparency when it comes to bedbugs and mass transit.
Council Member Mark Treyger and Assembly Member Bill Colton said Thursday they’re proposing legislation that would require the MTA to announce the presence of bedbugs on city trains and buses within 24 hours of an incident.
Earlier this week, the MTA took an N train out of service at DeKalb Avenue after a conductor was bitten and treated for bedbugs. Bedbugs have been reported on the Q and 6 trains this summer.
Speaking outside the N train station at King’s Highway and West 7th Street Thursday morning, Treyger and Colton said the MTA should inform riders about bedbugs as they do with emergencies and delays.
The MTA currently does not have a formal bedbug informing policy, according to Treyger and Colton, and the initiative is supported by the Transport Workers Union.
MTA spokesperson Amanda Kwan said Thursday that when bedbugs are reported, the MTA “follow(s) all established protocols by immediately taking the train out of service, inspecting it for any signs of bedbugs and fully treating the train car.”
Kwan said 5.8 million people ride 8,000 trains on an average weekday, and although 16 cars have been treated for bedbugs this year, no infestations have been found.
The MTA is reviewing it’s management plan to better serve riders, Kwan said.
